BEIJING — China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) reached 406.52 billion yuan (about $62.68 billion) in the first seven months of the year, official data showed on Aug 19.

The ODI went down 4 percent year-on-year during the period, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Bucking the overall decline, non-financial direct investment into countries along the Belt and Road increased 9.9 percent year-on-year in the January-July period, accounting for 18 percent of total ODI, data from the ministry shows.

Investment into services related to information transmission, software and information technology jumped 32.9 percent, while investment into sectors such as manufacturing and transportation also increased.

The ODI from the country's local enterprises rose 10.6 percent from a year earlier and accounted for 77.2 percent of the total ODI in the period, according to the ministry.