China's rising investment along Belt and Road

China's non-financial outbound direct investment in 45 countries along the Belt and Road Initiative in the first five months of 2017 hit US$4.99 billion, according to a Ministry of Commerce official.

The figure accounted for 14.4 percent of China's total outbound investment between January and May, and was 6.7 percentage points higher than in the same period of 2016.

Investment mainly went to Singapore, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Russia, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates and Myanmar. Investments in Africa also increased by 15.2 percent year-on-year.

During the first five months of the year, China's aggregate non-financial outbound direct investment, involving 3,121 overseas enterprises in 145 countries and regions, reached US$34.59 billion.

The statistics show Chinese firms signed 2,128 foreign project contracts worth US$38.47 billion in 61 Belt and Road countries during this period, accounting for 51 percent of the national total, down 1.6 percent year-on-year. The turnover was US$24 billion, up 6.7 percent year-on-year.