This aerial photo taken on Jan. 26, 2022 shows a cargo vessel at Rizhao Port in Rizhao, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)

China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) rose 26.6 percent year on year to 289.29 billion yuan in the first four months of the year, official data showed Monday.

In U.S. dollar terms, the ODI stood at 42.19 billion U.S. dollars in the period, up 17.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The non-financial ODI in countries along the Belt and Road came in at 7.53 billion dollars, up 9 percent year on year.

The turnover of contracted projects overseas grew 10.6 percent year on year to 287.99 billion yuan, while the contract value of newly-signed projects amounted to 406.47 billion yuan, up 2 percent from a year earlier.