China moved up from the sixth to the third place in 2012 in terms of outward foreign direct investment - after the United States and Japan - while a recent survey listed the world\'s second-largest economy as \"the most promising source\" of FDI, according to an annual report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. In 2012, FDI outflow from China continued to grow, reaching a record USD 84 billion, while total outward FDI from East and Southeast Asia rose 1 percent to USD 275 billion amid a sharp decline in global FDI outflows, the report said. China\'s outbound direct investment into non-financial sectors increased 20 percent year-on-year to $34.3 billion in the first five months of the year, while spending surged 28.6% year-on-year to USD77.22 billion in 2012, according to the Ministry of Commerce. \"China\'s outward direct investment grew at a striking pace,\" China daily quoted the director of the investment and enterprise division of the UNCTAD as saying. FDI in China\'s non-financial sectors declined 3.7 % year-on-year to USD 111.72 billion in 2012, according to the Ministry of Commerce, while the first five months of the year saw FDI inflow in China edging up 1.03% year-on-year to USD 47.6 billion.