China's nonfinancial outbound direct investment in the January-July period fell 2.1% from a year earlier, the country's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.
Chinese investment in Belt and Road countries, a Beijing-led infrastructure program, rose 28.9% to $10.27 billion, according to the ministry.
In a weekly press conference Thursday, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said China will launch a nationwide campaign between Sept. 9 and Oct. 8 to promote consumption, after Chinese leaders pledged to strengthen the domestic market and boost demand.
Mr. Gao said many American companies, including Starbucks Corp. and Tesla Inc., launched new investments this year in China, reflecting U.S. investors' confidence in the Chinese market.
He also said the Trump administration's ban on Chinese social platform Tiktok in the U.S. was groundless, harms the firm's legitimate rights and violates market principles.
U.S. and China trade negotiators will talk soon over the phone to discuss the progress of the trade deal signed earlier this year, Mr. Gao said.
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