Outbound direct investment by Chinese enterprises could exceed inbound foreign direct investment for the first time this year as companies diversified their activity around the world from infrastructure projects to technology and brands, a government spokesman said.

China's non-financial ODI rose 11.9 percent to $89.8 billion during the first 11 months, while non-financial FDI was up just 0.7 percent to $106.24 billion, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Tuesday.

Shen Danyang, spokesman for the ministry, said that when the full-year figures are tallied, they are likely to show that ODI exceeded FDI, even though China does not specifically aim to be a capital exporter.