Conference to explore opportunities along the Silk Road

A conference on outbound investment from Chinese companies to boost international production capacity will be held on Wednesday in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

International business delegations, especially those from countries and regions along the ancient Maritime Silk Road and Silk Road Economic Belt, will meet with their Chinese counterparts to discuss potential investment in areas of infrastructure, production capacity cooperation and financing opportunities, according to Wang Fuchuan, deputy director of the Guangzhou committee of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

The Chinese Enterprises Outbound Investment Conference, previously being held in Beijing for the past eight years, will highlight investment from Chinese manufacturers in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa.

"There will be huge opportunities for closer cooperation in production capacity between Chinese companies and their overseas counterparts as a growing number of domestic manufacturers have seen oversupplies of production in recent years," said Wang.

According to Wang, about 130 companies based in Guangzhou signed investment projects worth of $4.1 billion in overseas countries and regions last year, a rise of more than 60 percent year-on-year.

"Under China's 'Belt and Road Initiative', Chinese companies, especially those engaged in equipment manufacturing, are encouraged to boost investment in countries and regions," said Wang.

China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013 to facilitate regional ties.