Nonfinancial investment in the United States leaps 235.7% in first 4 months

China's nonfinancial outbound direct investment to the United States soared by 235.7 percent in the January to April period from the same period a year ago, underscoring Chinese investors' increasing appetite for US companies, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed on Tuesday.

Analysts said the mature market infrastructure and sound legal system of the US market, as well as the access to high-tech companies, were among the driving forces behind the trend.

Xu Hongcai, director of the economic research department at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said the growing trend of Chinese investors making the US a popular investment destination would likely continue after official data showed a record $8.39 billion of Chinese ODI in the US last year.