China's economic and trade cooperation with countries and regions along the route of the "One Belt, One Road" (B&R) initiative gained momentum in the first quarter of 2017, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Thursday ahead of the B&R Summit Forum that's scheduled for Beijing in May.
Bilateral trade increased 26.2 percent year-on-year in the first quarter to 1.66 trillion yuan ($240 billion), according to the MOFCOM.
China's exports to those markets were up 15.8 percent, representing 28.2 percent of China's total overseas shipments, data from the MOFCOM showed. Meanwhile, imports from those markets increased 42.9 percent, accounting for 25 percent of the total.
Bilateral investment continued to expand. China's new direct non-financial investment in 43 countries and regions along the B&R route reached $2.95 billion, taking up 14.4 percent of the total in the period, according to the MOFCOM.
As part of China's B&R initiative, the China-Belarus industrial park is undertaking investment work in an orderly manner, MOFCOM spokesman Sun Jiwen told a regular press conference on Thursday.
Sun noted that there will be a conference for promoting trade facilitation in May, for which more than 100 foreign guests have confirmed attendance, including ministerial officials, international organizations and enterprise representatives.
