Shanghai attracted a record-setting 12.6 billion U.S. dollars in foreign direct investment (FDI) this year, up 13.3 percent year-on-year, a municipal commerce commission official said Saturday.

A total of 4,329 foreign-funded projects were approved in 2011 in the Chinese financial and commercial hub, marking an annual increase of 10.8 percent, said Chen Xianjin, deputy director of the municipal commerce commission.

U.S. and European businesses saw small declines in China investment due to the global financial crisis and European sovereign debt crisis, Chen said, adding that investments from other Asian countries remained robust.

"U.S. and European companies have been more cautious, as the big investments seen before the global financial crisis became rarer," said Zhu Min, an researcher at the municipal commerce commission.

"But many multinationals see China as a land of hope for coping with the global economic slowdown. So, opportunities still exist for attracting foreign investment," Zhu said.

In 2012, Shanghai will seek more foreign investments in the service sector as it optimizes the investment and economic structure, according to Chen.