'Belt and Road' takes new route

A primary project list has been approved by the leadership, according to Ou, but it is still confidential. He said the "Belt and Road" summit forum would be the main information platform and dialogue mechanism for leaders from more than 60 countries and regions involved.

"Bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the region is expected to speed up," said Ou.

The "Belt and Road Initiative" was put forward by President Xi Jinping in 2013, with the purpose of rejuvenating the two ancient trading routes and further opening up the markets in a mutually beneficial manner.

The president also highlighted the strategy while addressing the opening ceremony of the 2015 annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia in the southernmost island province of Hainan.

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will provide financial support to relevant projects, and so far 52 countries and regions have joined or applied to join as founding members of the bank.

Report: Companies must be aware of risks, rewards

Companies from China should be aware of the significant risks and the considerable opportunities as the government implements a strategy to revive the historical trading connections along the ancient Silk Road, said a report from a United Kingdom-based think tank.

Though the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road offer many opportunities to boost trade, they also bring challenges due to the uncertain political, economic and regulatory conditions in the involved countries and regions despite their strategic importance to China's foreign relations, the Economist Intelligence Unit said in its report.

Citing an example, the report highlighted the political stability risk in Kazakhstan and said popular protests could drive an increasingly nationalist agenda. Similarly, foreign firms may suffer unfair rulings on contractual disputes in the local courts in Vietnam. Labor market risks in Malaysia may increase as the labor shortages are likely to persist, it said.

In addition, security reasons, government effectiveness, tax policies and the standard of local infrastructure may also create barriers for China's plan.

Liu Qian, director of China Forecasting Services at the EIU, said: "While there are opportunities, the strong policy support for the strategy may prove a weakness if Chinese companies fall into a false sense of security about the government's scheme."

The report also assessed credit risks in more than 60 countries and regions likely to fall under the "Belt and Road Initiative", using quantitative and qualitative indicators across different categories, including sovereign, currency and banking sector risks.