Inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) to China rose 3.8 percent year-on-year to US$54.19 billion in the first five months of 2016, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Sunday.

The service sector was the main driver of such growth, accounting for 70.4 percent of the total FDI in the reporting period, the Ministry said. In the five months to May 31, the FDI in the service sector jumped 7 percent from the prior-year period, to US$38.22 billion.

FDI inflows into China’s manufacturing sector declined by 3.2 percent year-on-year, to US$15.52 billion.

In May alone, FDI in China declined by 1 percent from a year earlier to US$8.9 billion, compared to a 6-percent increase in April, the Ministry added.