BEIJING -- China's outbound direct investment (ODI) into countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) increased in the first five months, official data showed.

During the period, such investment into BRI countries expanded 13.8 percent year on year to $7.43 billion, accounting for 17.2 percent of the total, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

From January to May, the country's total ODI rose 2.6 percent to $43.29 billion from the same period in 2020, the ministry said.

Specifically, outbound investment into manufacturing and information transmission sectors continued to grow. The manufacturing sector attracted 7.2 billion dollars in the first five months, up 11.8 percent year-on-year.

The ODI from China's local enterprises reached 32.75 billion dollars, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier and accounting for 75.7 percent of the total ODI in the period, according to the ministry.