BEIJING, June 20 -- China reported a robust expansion in overseas investment in the first five months of the year, official data showed on Thursday, indicating the country's improved cooperation with global partners.

The country's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) came in at 60.2 billion U.S. dollars in the first five months of the year, up 16.3 percent year on year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.

Cooperation with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative continued to show growth momentum as ODI in these countries came in at 12.81 billion U.S. dollars in the January-May period, rising 12.7 percent from the same period a year earlier.

The turnover of contracted overseas projects rose 8.8 percent year on year to 58.79 billion U.S. dollars. The value of newly signed contracts hit 87.3 billion U.S. dollars, marking a rapid increase of 21.7 percent, the data revealed.

To facilitate Chinese investment in foreign countries and regions, a regulation on the contracting of overseas projects was issued by the ministry and will take effect on July 1 this year. It will streamline procedures for relevant businesses.