Emerging strategic industries in China will become a new driving force for foreign investors amid the bleak economic outlook in many markets.

China is still an attractive destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI jumped 18.6 percent year-on-year in the first seven months to $69.2 billion.

Compared with other emerging economies, China remains competitive in attracting investment and FDI inflows should be positive for the full year, said Zhang Zhiwei, chief China economist of Nomura Holdings Inc.

China has designated seven emerging strategic industries, including energy conservation and environmental protection, new information technology and new energy vehicles as key to the country's sustainable growth.

With support policies for the strategic emerging industries to be launched during the coming months, overseas investment in manufacturing will continue to grow, said Asian Manufacturing Association CEO Luo Jun.

"The development of emerging industries will spark a new round of overseas investment, as these sectors offer golden opportunities that overseas investors can't use," Luo said.

China is also revising its guidelines for foreign investment to increase market access for overseas companies. These guidelines are expected to be announced in the coming months.

During the first seven months, however, FDI from the US dropped 19.17 percent year-on-year.

"Signs of US economic weakness has mounted in the past few months. Both the negative outlook for the US economy and the decelerating PMI have contributed to the decline in investment from the US," said Zhang.

Many American firms are facing financial difficulties because of the turbulent financial market in the US and that has affected their investment in overseas markets, including China, said Li Zhongmin, an investment researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.