The hard facts attest to China's Belt and Road Initiative resulting in better-than-expected achievements in the past three years, said Shen Danyang, Ministry of Commerce spokesman.

Since 2013 when President Xi Jinping first proposed the initiative, trade volume between China and economies along the trading routes amounted to $3 trillion, total investment reached $50 billion, and newly signed contracts exceeded $304.9 billion, Shen said.

China has signed approximately 50 government-level cooperation agreements with these economies and established 56 economic and trade cooperation zones, Shen added.