The Ministry of Commerce has called on Chinese companies investing abroad to seek green development in protecting the local environment, according to ministry spokesperson on Tuesday.

"The Chinese government requires companies investing abroad to observe their social responsibility in environmental protection," said Sun Jiwen, spokesperson for The Ministry of Commerce.

"The Ministry of Commerce has formulated a manual on environmental protection in outbound investment together with the Ministry of Environmental Protection with a view on encouraging Chinese enterprises overseas to seek sustainable and low-carbon growth," said Sun.

China's outbound investment has amounted to more than $1 trillion so far, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

European Union's investment in China has grown by 41.9 percent in the first quarter this year from the same period the previous year to 22.1 billion yuan ($3.5 billion).

"The fast increase in investment from the EU has reflected the fact that the investors have a lot of confidence in the Chinese economy,"said Sun.

China's GDP grew by 6.7 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. Total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 10.3 percent in the first four months year-on-year.

"A recent survey by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has listed China as the most prosperous investment destination from 2016 to 2017. China will continue its economic reform and opening up to appeal more foreign investment throughout the world," said Sun.