China faces difficulties attracting foreign investment this year, ministry says

BEIJING (Reuters) - China faces a severe and complex situation in attracting foreign investment this year, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng told reporters in an online briefing on Thursday.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) jumped 31.5% to 176.76 billion yuan ($27.21 billion) in January and February, up from a year earlier, data showed this month.

Gao attributed the surge to low bases for comparison last year and a recovering economy that boosted investor confidence in China's growth outlook.

He added China will continue to open up to the outside world and cut back on areas barred to foreign investment.

"We'll step up efforts to build a more business friendly environment, so that when foreign firms enter China, they could rest assured of their development here," Gao said.

(Reporting by Xu Jing, Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)