More than 27,500 Chinese investors had established about 44,000 overseas enterprises in over 80% of countries and regions in 2019, new government data showed on Wednesday.

Workers are seen on the construction site of the Hunutlu Thermal Power Plant in Adana, Turkey, on Sept. 22, 2019. The Hunutlu Thermal Power Plant, China's biggest project with direct investment in Turkey, officially started construction on Sunday in the southern province of Adana. The project, with a total investment of 1.7 billion US dollars mainly from the Shanghai Electric Power Company, is a flagship project linking the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Turkey's "Middle Corridor" vision. (Photo: Xinhua)

China's ODI amounted to $136.9 billion in 2019, down 4.3 percent year-on-year, still making it the world's second-largest outward investor after Japan, according to a report released by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

By the end of last year, China's accumulative outbound foreign direct investment (ODI) reached $2.2 trillion, ranking 3rd in the world following the US and the Netherlands, according to the report.

Chinese ODI covers 188 countries and regions, while the investment in countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) saw steady growth. Between 2013 and 2019, China's accumulative investment in BRI countries and regions stood at $117.3 billion.

China's ODI is diversified, with about 80 percent in the services sector including leasing and business services, wholesale and retail and finance.

Chinese direct investment in other countries and regions made a great contribution to the host countries' tax income and employment. In 2019, Chinese enterprises overseas generated profits or balanced financial results. They paid taxes worth $56 billion in countries and regions they operate and hired 2.27 million foreign employees.