BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China has seen robust trade and investment with countries participating in Belt and Road cooperation over the past years, vice commerce minister Li Chenggang told a press conference on Friday.

The combined trade between China and related countries climbed from 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021 to 3.1 trillion U.S. dollars last year, with an average annual growth rate of 4.7 percent, Li said. The volume accounted for 50.7 percent of China's total foreign trade in 2024, up from 45.3 percent in 2021.

From 2021 to the first half this year, two-way investment between China and Belt and Road countries had accumulated to more than 240 billion U.S. dollars, including over 160 billion U.S. dollars flowing into Belt and Road countries and over 80 billion dollars into China.

Li said Belt and Road cooperation projects had advanced steadily, enhanced infrastructure connectivity, improved people's lives and fostered talent for local development. From 2021 to the first half of this year, China's overseas engineering contracts had reached a cumulative turnover of nearly 600 billion U.S. dollars.

To develop emerging industries and expand cooperation space, China has signed investment cooperation memorandums with more than 50 Belt and Road countries in key sectors such as the digital, green, and blue economies. The Silk Road e-commerce cooperation has expanded to 36 partner countries. ■