BEIJING - China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) went down 2.6 percent year on year in the first eight months of the year, data showed Thursday.

Investment into countries along the Belt and Road surged 31.5 percent year on year, accounting for 17.2 percent of the total ODI during the period

The ODI amounted to 480.45 billion yuan (or US$68.48 billion) in the period, according to the Ministry of Commerce. 

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Investment into countries along the Belt and Road surged 31.5 percent year on year, accounting for 17.2 percent of the total ODI during the period. The share was up 4.8 percentage points from the same period last year.

Major overseas engineering projects increased. The contract value of newly signed overseas projects came in at 946.94 billion yuan during the January-August period, up 7.3 percent year on year.