BEIJING - China remained a strong magnet for overseas investment thanks to opening-up policies, a Chinese economist said on Thursday.

Sun Zhenyu, president of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, said despite shrinking global capital flows, China's ability to attract foreign investment has not lost its luster. Sun made the comments during the International Investment Forum 2015 held in Beijing.

Sun attributed the strength to China's opening-up policies, citing improved free trade zones, the Belt and Road Initiative and the government's positive attitude to bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.

China overtook the United States to become the world's largest investment destination in 2014, the first time since 2003, using $119.56 billion of foreign investment in 2014, up 1.7 percent year on year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.

However, global foreign direct investment dropped 8 percent from a year ago to $1.26 trillion last year, the lowest reading since 2009, because of sluggish demand, a volatile currency market and an uncertain geopolitical situation.

China also became a net capital exporter in 2014 as Chinese enterprises were increasingly eager to go global.