China's outbound direct investment (ODI) climbed 4.2 percent year-on-year to $129.83 billion in 2018, data showed Wednesday.

Non-financial ODI rose 0.3 percent year-on-year to $120.5 billion in 2018, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

The structure of outbound investment continued to improve, with investment mainly flowing into leasing and business services, manufacturing, retail and wholesale, and mining sectors, according to the ministry.

"Irrational outbound investment was further effectively contained," the ministry said, while noting no new projects were reported in the property, sport and entertainment industries.

China's non-financial ODI on projects in 56 Belt and Road economies totaled $15.64 billion last year, up 8.9 percent, it said.