BEIJING - China's total outbound direct investment (ODI) rose 7.5 percent year on year to $57.54 billion in the first four months of this year, according to data released Thursday by the Ministry of Commerce.

During the January-April period, non-financial ODI went up 5.6 percent year on year to 51.04 billion dollars, He Yongqian, a ministry spokesperson, said at a regular press briefing.

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Non-financial ODI in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached $12.78 billion, a 16.4 percent increase compared to the same period in the previous year.

In the first four months of the year, turnover of overseas-contracted projects amounted to $47.11 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.8 percent. Meanwhile, the value of new contracts for such projects increased by 22.4 percent to $76.59 billion during the period.