China's Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said on Tuesday that China's outward direct investment in the first two months of this year declined 37.2 percent from the same period last year.

In January of this year, there was a 47.2-percent rise in ODI. Between January and February of 2013, China's ODI surged 147.3 percent from the previous year because of China National Offshore Oil Corp's takeover of Nexen Inc, a Canadian oil and gas company.

The takeover drove down the mainland's ODI in Hong Kong in the first two months of this year — down by 62.9 percent from the previous year — because part of the takeover was financed in Hong Kong.

Shen added that the country's investments in Russia and Japan this year both grew because of very low base figures last year.