BEIJING, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) into China hit a record 105.74 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 17.4 percent year on year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced Tuesday.

In December alone, China attracted 14.03 billion U.S. dollars of FDI, up 15.6 percent year on year, making it the 17th consecutive month of FDI growth since August 2009.

The rapid FDI growth could be attributed to robust development in the service sector and the country's central and western regions, said MOC spokesman Yao Jian.

FDI in the service sector rose 28.6 percent last year and that in central and western regions climbed 27.6 percent year on year, Yao said.