Beijing, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Global retail giant Walmart has decided to invest around 8 billion yuan (about 1.17 billion U.S. dollars) in the next decade to upgrade its logistics and supply chains in the Chinese market.

The new investment will be used for building or upgrading over 10 distribution centers to boost online and offline business to meet demands from Chinese customers for fresh goods and convenient services, according to Ryan McDaniel, senior vice president of supply chain for Walmart China.

The company opened a 700-million yuan perishable distribution center in south China in March, the company's largest single investment in its 23-year operation in China.

The center is able to deal with over 4,000 types of goods that need to be stored at freezing, chilled or constant temperatures, and has supported more than 100 outlets in south China's Guangdong and Guangxi.

The investment plan came after China released a revised list of industries that encourage foreign investment.

Logistics of ordinary goods, cold chain logistics for fresh agricultural goods and special medicine were fields among the list.