A member of staff works at the general assembly line of FAW-Volkswagen in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin province, on June 12, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BERLIN - German direct investment in China increased by 4.3 percent to a record high of 11.9 billion euros ($12.7 billion) last year, constituting a larger share of the country's overall investment abroad, a Reuters report has said.

German firms are continuing to invest heavily in China, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing an exclusive analysis from the IW institute based on official Bundesbank data.

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Investment in China as a share of Germany's overall investments abroad rose last year to 10.3 percent, the highest level since 2014, while German direct investments elsewhere in Asia were stagnant at around 8 percent, according to the report.

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German companies have invested as much in China in the last three years as in the previous six years, the report said.

Overall German foreign direct investment dropped last year to 116 billion euros ($123.8 billion) from around 170 billion euros ($181.4 billion) in 2022 as Europe's largest economy hovered on the brink of recession, the IW report said.

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China remained Germany's most important trading partner for the eighth year in a row in 2023, according to preliminary figures.