China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) continued to see strong growth in the first five months of 2018, official data showed Thursday.

Domestic investors made 47.89 billion U.S. dollars of non-financial ODI in 2,987 overseas enterprises in 149 countries and regions in January-May, the Ministry of Commerce said.

The investment was up 38.5 percent from the same period last year.

ODI in countries along the Belt and Road rose 8.2 percent from a year earlier to 5.93 billion dollars during the first five months.

The structure of outbound investment continued to improve, with investment mainly going to sectors of leasing and business services, manufacturing, mining, and retail and wholesale sectors. No new projects were reported in sectors such as property development, sports and entertainment.

Noting the irrational tendency in outbound investment, authorities have set stricter rules and advised companies to make investment decisions more carefully.