In 2021, the non-financial direct investment of Chinese companies in countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) reached RMB103.4 billion, growing by 7.4% year-on-year (USD15.65 billion, up 5.2%). This sum accounted for 18.2% of their total outbound investment over the same period, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous year. Major investment destinations include Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the UAE, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Serbia and Bangladesh.

In terms of international construction contracting, China signed 4,357 new construction contracts with BRI participating countries. Their worth, RMB506.74 billion, decreased by 3.1% (USD76.7 billion, down 5.1%) year-on-year, accounting for 52.2% of the total of China’s new international construction contracts over the same period. The value of performed contracts was RMB378.77 billion, down 5.3% (USD57.33 billion, down 7.2%) year-on-year and accounting for 53.6% of China’s total amount over the same period.