BEIJING, May 22 -- China's total outbound direct investment (ODI) rose 7.5 percent year on year to 57.54 billion U.S. dollars 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.

Non-financial ODI in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 12.78 billion dollars, 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 dollars, 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 dollars during the period.