China's investment along Belt and Road booms

BEIJING - Chinese companies' investment in countries along the Belt and Road rose again in Q1.

From January to March, Chinese enterprises invested $2.95 billion in 43 countries along the Belt and Road, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Tuesday.

The investment accounted for 14.4 percent of Chinese firms' total outbound investment in Q1, compared to 9 percent for the same period last year.

Chinese enterprises signed 952 project contracts in 61 countries along the Belt and Road with a turnover of $14.4 billion, nearly half of the total value of contracts in Q1, according to the MOC.

Since 2013, China has invested more than $50 billion in countries involved in the Belt and Road. A total of 56 economic and trade cooperation zones have already been built by Chinese businesses in Belt and Road countries, generating nearly $1.1 billion in tax revenue and creating 180,000 local jobs.

The latest data comes less than a month before the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which opens on May 14 in Beijing.