China made actual use of 12.24 billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI) in December, down 12.73 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.

FDI in China reached 116 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, up 9.72 percent year-on-year, the ministry said.

Investment from the European Union and the United States fell while that from other Asian countries and regions increased, said Shen Danyang, the ministry's spokesman.

The service industry registered a faster growth and total amount of FDI compared to the manufacturing sector.

In 2011, the nation approved the establishment of 27,712 foreign-invested companies, up 1.12 percent year-on-year, said Shen.