BEIJING - Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland edged up 1.2 percent year on year to reach $9.21 billion in September, official data showed Thursday.

That brings FDI growth in the first nine months to 4.2 percent, according to figures from the Ministry of Commerce.

The steady growth came as the Chinese government intensifies efforts to improve access for foreign companies, which experts believe will create an environment for fairer competition and bring more foreign investment.

The service industry continued to attract more foreign investment from January to September. FDI in the service sector, accounting for 70.7 percent of total investment, went up 9 percent year on year during the period.

In particular, FDI in high-tech services nearly doubled from a year earlier to reach 73.88 billion yuan ($11 billion).

In the first nine months, FDI from the United States surged 118.9 percent, while that from Germany and the UK soared 95.8 percent and 51.7 percent, respectively.

At a meeting earlier this month, the State Council, China's cabinet, stressed measures to improve the country's business environment, pledging more efforts to create a level playing field for both domestic and foreign companies.

Following China's revisions to four laws regulating inbound investment last month, it was decided at the meeting that some administrative approvals will no longer be necessary for foreign investors setting up businesses on the Chinese mainland.

These investors are now only required to report business plans to local regulators, as long as their business is not on the "negative list." The government estimates that more than 95 percent of procedures will be cut.