China's non-financial outbound direct investment (ODI) dropped 6 percent year-on-year to 807.95 billion yuan in 2019, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Tuesday.

Chinese companies invested 105.96 billion yuan in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, accounting for 13.1 percent of the total.

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

The country's ODI has seen rapid growth in recent years. However, noting an "irrational tendency" in outbound investment, the government has set stricter rules and advised companies to make investment decisions more carefully.