China has this year seen a rise in its exports and investment in countries and regions linked by the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, Chinese official news agency Xinhua reported.

Shen Danyang, spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, is reported to have said on Tuesday that China’s exports to the countries along the “One Belt, One Road” zone rose 2 percent year-on-year to US$244 billion in the first five months of this year.

Such growth outpaced the total export hike of 0.8 percent in the same period, he noted.

The name of the initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, proposed in 2013 by Chinese President, Xi Jinping. It maps routes that have historically linked China’s trade with the rest of the world. The initiative aims to connect better the economies along the routes, and enhance trade across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa through infrastructure development.

In the January to May period, Chinese enterprises invested US$4.86 billion in 48 nations and regions under the initiative, a rise of 3.7 percent from the previous year, Mr Shen added.

The “One Belt, One Road” concept, covering 60 countries and regions with a total population of 4.4 billion, has accounted for about a quarter of China’s exports and a fifth of its outbound direct investment so far this year, Xinhua reported.