Trained to Help

Two conductors help a woman and a little boy board a train newly added to the rail route from Shanghai to Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, on April 16. billion yuan ($4.17 billion) of investment, up 12.4 percent year on year.

Investment from the European Union grew 11.2 percent in the first quarter, the MOFCOM data showed.

In March alone, China’s nonfinancial ODI declined 30.1 percent year on year to $7.11 billion, according to the MOFCOM. Chinese companies invested in 2,170 overseas enterprises in 129 countries and regions in the first three months.

The contract value signed in March rose 22.2 percent year on year to hit $17.92 billion. The Silk Road Economic Belt and 21stCentury Maritime Silk Road Initiative has boosted business cooperation between Chinese and foreign firms, the MOFCOM statement said.

Outbound investment in countries involved in the initiative accounted for 14.4 percent of the total ODI in the first three months, up 5.4 percentage points from that in 2016.

Manufacturing, commercial service and information transmission as well as the software and information technology industries took the lead in investment value, demonstrating the special attention from Chinese businesses to the real economy and emerging industries in their outbound investment.