During the past three decades, China's growth was predicated on investment and net exports. In the future, it will be driven increasingly by consumption. How will the transition affect foreign companies in China? Where are their new opportunities and what are their challenges?

Last year, foreign direct investment (FDI) in China fell almost 4 percent to $112 billion, according to Ministry of Commerce data on new projects from overseas. However, central bank data offer a bullish picture of reinvested earnings from foreign companies already operating on the Chinese mainland.

Today, China is the world's top destination for FDI, as the United Nations data attest. But as China is changing, so will FDI.