BEIJING, July 7 -- China's newly-established free trade zones (FTZs) in Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian have shown promise in attracting overseas investment, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday.

At the end of May, over a month after their establishment, the three zones had received a combined 22.6 billion yuan (about 3.7 billion U.S. dollars) in contracted overseas investment, Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang told a press conference.

The Guangdong, Tianjin and Fujian FTZ attracted 7.8 billion yuan, 11.7 billion yuan and 3.2 billion yuan, accounting for 45.3 percent, 69.4 percent and 53.6 percent of the total in their respective regions, Shen said.

The three FTZs were set up in April, 18 months after the first FTA was established in Shanghai as part of the government's efforts to test reform policies and better integrate the economy with international practices in a landscape where China's old export-reliant model is no longer sustainable.

Some of the new rules and regulations, launched for trial in the FTZs, promised easier access to both foreign and domestic investment, further opening up of the service sector and liberalizing measures for the financial sector.