China's Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that Chinese investment in countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative will pay off in the long term and called for companies to join in on the campaign.
The ministry predicted that the value of outbound direct investment this year will remain stable despite international reports that some of the projects under construction along the trade routes might fail to be profitable.
"In the long run, investment and projects in the countries and regions along the Belt and Road trading routes have a great significance in enhancing infrastructure interconnection, which will benefit local people," ministry spokesman Sun Jiwen said at a news conference on Thursday.
The ministry also encouraged companies to get involved in the "One Belt One Road Strategy" and move further up the global value chain.
China's direct investment in the 53 countries and regions along the routes exceeded $14.53 billion in 2016, account for 8.5 percent of the country's outbound direct investment, according to China Daily citing government data.
During the same period, the value of contracts that China signed with 61 countries and regions along the trading routes have reached $126.03 billion, making up 51.6 percent of the value of China's new overseas projects.
Wang Zhile, a senior researcher at the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said a key priority of the initiative was "infrastructure interconnection," as infrastructure construction in some developing countries has been lagging behind for a long time.
"International cooperation will promote job growth and economic development, as well as facilitate trade and economic exchanges among countries and regions," Wang said.
Many of the infrastructure projects have already begun construction, including Pakistan's Karakoram highway, the Karachi-Lahore motorway, the China-Laos railway, Turkey's Istanbul-Ankara high-speed railway and the Hungary-Serbia railway.
Those projects have a positive role in improving the infrastructure level, and the ministry will deepen its cooperation with countries and regions along the routes in the future, Sun said.