NANNING -- South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has reported robust growth in foreign investment in the first seven months of 2020 despite the COVID-19 epidemic.

The total foreign investment utilized in Guangxi reached $675 million, a year-on-year increase of 17.4 percent, according to the region's investment promotion bureau.

Guangxi's attempts to woo foreign investors were boosted by the region's ongoing building of a pilot free trade zone (FTZ).

A total of 194 foreign-funded enterprises, including 40 in the Guangxi pilot FTZ, were newly established during the January-July period. Contractual foreign investment totaled $2.68 billion, up 56.4 percent year-on-year.