The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced Thursday that it will host the 17th China International Fair for Investment & Trade (CIFIT), widely known as the world's largest investment exposition in scale, between September 8 and 11, in hopes of attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI) to China.

The four-day event has been held in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province every year since 1997. This year's fair will be co-sponsored by the World Trade Organization for the first time, which brings the number of participating international economics agencies to six.

The exhibition floor space will surpass 100,000 square meters, nearly twice as large as last year. Currently, the fair has attracted participants from 48 countries and regions, with 640 exhibition booths, said Zhang Canmin, deputy mayor of Xiamen, at a press conference held in Beijing Thursday.

The press conference was presided over by MOFCOM spokesperson Shen Danyang, who told reporters that the 17th CIFIT would be more "down-to-earth" and predicted that activities held during the event would bring tangible benefits to the participants.

Data from MOFCOM indicated that FDI flowing into China soared 20.12 percent year-on-year in June to $14.39 billion, the fastest growth since March 2011 and the fifth straight monthly increase since February.

But June's data does not indicate a sustained strong rebound of the FDI in the second half, He Weiwen, co-director of the China-US-EU Study Center under the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times Thursday.

"The sluggish economic growth in China is likely to hinder foreign capital inflows to some extent. The increasing labor costs and overcapacity in the domestic manufacturing sector may also deter some foreign investors," said He.

According to a report released by US-based management consulting firm A.T. Kearney on June 26, the US has overtaken China to become the most favored FDI destination for the first time since 2001.

However, as China's central government further opens industries such as the financial sector and the refined oil market to foreign investors, the FDI is likely to maintain a steady growth through 2013, ­according to He.