Trade and investment cooperation between China and countries along the Belt and Road has been smooth and robust¹ this year, a commerce ministry² official said Thursday.

 

商务部一位官员周四表示，2017年中国与一带一路国家之间的贸易与投资合作顺利且稳健。

 

Goods trade between China and Belt and Road countries surged 26.2 percent year on year to more than 1.65 trillion yuan (about 240 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of this year, according to Sun Jiwen, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

 

Chinese exports to Belt and Road countries totaled 937.6 billion yuan in the three months, up 15.8 percent from the same period last year, while imports from those countries jumped 42.9 percent to 717.7 billion yuan, Sun told a press briefing.

 

In the meantime, China made 2.95 billion U.S. dollars of non-financial direct investment to 43 Belt and Road countries, and 781 new companies with investment from Belt and Road countries were set up in China with a total investment of 8.45 billion yuan, said Sun.

 

Both goods and services from China are becoming increasingly popular among Belt and Road countries, he said, citing ongoing³ overseas projects such as the China-Belarus Industrial Park and the Nairobi-Mombasa railway.

 

Chinese enterprises signed 952 project contracts in 61 countries along the Belt and Road worth 22.27 billion dollars in the Jan.-March period, more than half of the total value of contracts in Q1, according to Sun.

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