Silk Road projects account for most deals

New figures from the Ministry of Commerce show that projects linked to the Belt and Road Initiative accounted for nearly half of all overseas deals by Chinese companies during the first seven months.

Officials said there were 1,786 projects registered as associated with the economic initiative, or 44.9 percent of the total number of projects abroad.

Collectively the deals were worth some $49.44 billion, 39.6 percent more than the total for the first seven months of 2014.

Proposed in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the Belt and Road is a trade and infrastructure network that includes the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

The network connects Asia, Europe and Africa and passes through more than 60 countries and regions with a population of about 4.4 billion.

Shen Danyang, the ministry's spokesman, said 176 of the deals were worth more than $50 million in value, a 4.2 percent increase on last year.

The most-recent monthly trade figures showed China attracted $760 million in foreign investment in July from companies along the Belt and Road, a 1.3 percent fall on a year-on-year basis.

The wholesale and retail trade, and the leasing and commercial services sectors witnessed the sharpest growth rate, a respective 428.7 percent year-on-year increase and 500.3 percent year-on-year increase.

Shanghai, Beijing and Guangdong province attracted the most investment from Belt and Road countries, accounting for 47.91 percent, 15.81 percent and 11.69 percent of the total capital respectively.

Sang Baichuan, director of the Institute of International Business at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said China has invested considerable effort in deepening cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road trade routes this year, and that the new figures were stronger than expected.

"Against the backdrop of an unsteady global economy, the initiative is serving as a bridge for the flow of trade and commerce," he said.