First FDI drop in 28 months

Vice-Premier Li calls to promote consumption and service sector

BEIJING - Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell almost 10 percent last month from a year earlier, the first drop in 28 months, as Vice-Premier Li Keqiang called for a boost to domestic consumption on Thursday.

Amid the "grim and complicated" global outlook, China needs to strengthen market capacity and growth by encouraging private investment, increasing investment in affordable housing projects and accelerating urbanization, Li said.