China's non-financial outbound direct investment in the January to April period surged 71.8 percent on year to 60.08 billion US dollars. That's according to the Ministry of Commerce. The ministry said Monday that China's new project contracts totalled 59 billion US dollars in the period, an increase of 3.8 percent.

Projects involving infrastructure construction and the so-called "belt and road" nations across Asia and the Middle East have seen substantial growth. Investments in the services sector have also accelerated. The ministry was to release investment inflow data later this month.