China's outbound direct investment also grew steadily in the first half of this year despite tighter regulation and the rise of global trade protectionism. Lily Lyu has the details.

The Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday that China's non-financial outbound direct investment rose 19 percent y-o-y to over 57 billion US dollars in the first 6 months of this year. The investment went to more than 3,600 foreign companies in 151 countries and regions. One of the brightest spots is the belt and road projects. Data shows 55 BRI countries received investment from China in the first half of 2018, totalling 7.4 billion dollars. That's up 12 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Cross-border M&A took the lion's share of those investments, with most of the money gone into manufacturing and mining sectors.

HAN YONG, SENIOR OFFICIAL CHINESE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE "China's foreign investment has been growing rapidly from the January to June period. The result came as an increasing number of countries started to adopt inward trade policies. This trend will impact Chinese firms' investment strategies and we need to make some adjustments."

Analysts say China's outbound investment has entered into a transitioning period last year. The investment structure continues to optimize in the midst of tightened capital control, the rise of trade protectionism and a more complex global investment environment. They also predict that renewed investment guidelines issued by the Chinese government will drive the country's investment to focus more on the real economy. Meanwhile, investment in BRI nations will continue to play a crucial role as Chinese firms seek to expand their global footprints and competitiveness.