Ministry of Commerce and two other departments: China's outward direct investment flows in 2025 reached US$213.58 billion, up 11.1% year on year.

On September 23, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bureau of Statistics, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly released the Statistical Bulletin of China's Outward Foreign Direct Investment 2025. The bulletin shows that in 2025, China's outward direct investment flows reached US$213.58 billion, up 11.1% year on year, and the stock of outward investment reached US$3.4 trillion, ranking among the world's top three for nine consecutive years, with its share of global investment rising to 7.4%. Outward investment covered 18 industry categories of the national economy, mainly concentrated in four fields: leasing and business services, wholesale and retail, manufacturing, and finance. In recent years, it has gradually and steadily expanded into areas such as green and low-carbon development, the digital economy, and green minerals. The full text is as follows: Ministry of Commerce, National Bureau of Statistics, and State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly release the Statistical Bulletin of China's Outward Foreign Direct Investment 2025 On September 23, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bureau of Statistics, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly released the Statistical Bulletin of China's Outward Foreign Direct Investment 2025 (hereinafter referred to as the Bulletin). The Bulletin consists of six parts: an overview of China's outward direct investment, China's outward direct investment flows and stock, China's direct investment in the world's major economies, the composition of outward direct investors, the composition of outward direct investment enterprises, and appendices. It comprehensively reflects the situation of China's outward direct investment in 2025. Outward investment mainly presents the following characteristics: First, the scale of outward direct investment remained among the world's top, showing a trend of diversified investment. In 2025, China's outward direct investment flows reached US$213.58 billion, up 11.1% year on year, and the stock of outward investment reached US$3.4 trillion, ranking among the world's top three for nine consecutive years, with its share of global investment rising to 7.4%. Outward investment covered 18 industry categories of the national economy, mainly concentrated in four fields: leasing and business services, wholesale and retail, manufacturing, and finance. In recent years, it has gradually and steadily expanded into areas such as green and low-carbon development, the digital economy, and green minerals. Second, mutual benefit and win-win results were remarkable. By the end of 2025, China had established 58,000 overseas enterprises in 189 countries and regions, with a total of 4.761 million employees in overseas enterprises, including 2.965 million local employees. Chinese enterprises actively integrated into the global and regional economies overseas, which not only drove their own development and enhanced their competitiveness, but also made important contributions to the industrial development of host countries and the stable and secure global industrial and supply chains. Third, Belt and Road cooperation yielded fruitful results. In 2025, Chinese enterprises made direct investment of US$46.05 billion in Belt and Road partner countries, accounting for 21.6% of that year's outward investment flows. The number of overseas enterprises established in Belt and Road partner countries reached 22,000, with an investment stock of US$407.25 billion. The Belt and Road Initiative has built a broad platform for Chinese enterprises' outward investment and achieved a sound pattern of "extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits." This article is compiled from the Ministry of Commerce. GMTEight editor: Chen Wenfang.