Law firms seek to boost Belt and Road

Global-minded Chinese manufacturers and infrastructure companies can reap big dividends and minimize business risks by investing directly in markets covered by the Belt and Road Initiative, said experts in international corporate and trade laws.

The trade-and-infrastructure network, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, envisages a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, covering about 4.4 billion people in more than 60 countries and regions in Asia, Europe and Africa.

As Chinese enterprises are "proficient and experienced" in carrying out various projects in developing markets, direct investment in these countries will given them advantage over their competitors from other countries, said Elaine Lo, chairwoman of Asia operations of the Hong Kong-based global law firm Mayer Brown JSM, which employs more than 1,500 lawyers and has offices in 22 cities across the Americas, Europe and Asia.