Full coverage: Belt and Road Forum for Int'l Cooperation

BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies' investment in countries along the Belt and Road rose again in Q1.

From January to March, Chinese enterprises invested 2.95 billion U.S. dollars in 43 countries along the Belt and Road, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Tuesday.

The investment accounted for 14.4 percent of Chinese firms' total outbound investment in Q1, compared to 9 percent for the same period last year.

Chinese enterprises signed 952 project contracts in 61 countries along the Belt and Road with a turnover of 14.4 billion dollars, nearly half of the total value of contracts in Q1, according to the MOC.

Since 2013, China has invested more than 50 billion dollars in countries involved in the Belt and Road. A total of 56 economic and trade cooperation zones have already been built by Chinese businesses in Belt and Road countries, generating nearly 1.1 billion dollars in tax revenue and creating 180,000 local jobs.

The latest data comes less than a month before the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which opens on May 14 in Beijing.

Thus far, 28 heads of state and government leaders have confirmed their attendance at the forum. Other delegates include officials, entrepreneurs, financiers and reporters from 110 countries, and representatives of 61 international organizations.