BEIJING -- Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland, in actual use, expanded 17.4 percent year-on-year to 723.31 billion yuan in the first half of the year, the Ministry of Commerce said Friday.

In US dollar terms, the inflow went up 21.8 percent from a year ago to 112.35 billion dollars, according to the ministry.

High-tech industries saw a rapid FDI increase of 33.6 percent in the first six months. Specifically, foreign investment in high-tech manufacturing rose 31.1 percent, while that in the high-tech service sector jumped 34.4 percent.

The service industry received 537.13 billion yuan of foreign investment in the period, up 9.2 percent from a year earlier.

Investment from the Republic of Korea, the United States, and Germany climbed by 37.2 percent, 26.1 percent, and 13.9 percent, respectively.

The FDI flowing into the country's western region reported a 43.9 percent surge in the January-June period, followed by 25 percent in the central region, and 15.6 percent in the eastern region.