As more and more Chinese enterprises are going global and developing businesses in the international economic arena, their compliance capability has improved remarkably, helping them gain a bigger share in the world market.

However, with an increasingly more complex external environment, the challenges and risks facing Chinese enterprises are surging more than ever, said Su Wei, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, at a training program focusing on compliance management for Belt and Road investments.

Held in central China's Henan Province, the training attracted about 100 participants from both state-owned and private firms.

"Our company has always paid close attention to compliance to local laws and regulations in our overseas businesses, which I think is the key, to some extent, to successful investment in a foreign country,"

said Gong Shuangxi from the Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Co. Ltd.

Established in 2011, the provincial government-owned company quickly expanded its businesses to Europe by seizing opportunities brought about by the Belt and Road Initiative.

After acquiring a 35-percent equity in Cargolux Airlines International, the largest cargo airline in Europe, the company opened the Zhengzhou-Luxembourg air route and introduced a new freight service between China and Europe.

Now, about 18 flights operate per week between Luxembourg and Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan, and international cargo transport has maintained annual growth of over 40 percent, according to Gong.

Having a good understanding of and complying with the laws, regulations, social customs as well as living habits of a country plays a significant role in being successful in overseas investment, said Gong, who attributed his emphasis on compliance management to his more than 10 years of overseas work experience.

For Huang Youquan, an official with the China Western Power Industrial Co. Ltd., a provider of power plant boiler and power station auxiliary equipment in southwest China's Sichuan Province, compliance management in overseas projects has helped transform the traditional experience-based management model to a law and rule-based one.

Founded in 1983, the company started its large-scale going abroad drive after 2015 and has established several Build-Operate-Transfer projects for garbage burning power generation.

Compliance requirements clearly outline the rights and obligations of the investors, which in turn act as a reference in reducing risks, according to Huang.

While enterprises are propping up their efforts in strengthening overseas compliance, authorities have also bolstered guidance in the sector with a guideline issued earlier this year, serving as a reference for Chinese enterprises aiming to go global.

The guideline put forward compliance requirements for enterprises' four major activities, namely, foreign trade, overseas investment, foreign contracted projects and overseas daily operations, emphasizing whole-process and all-around compliance in overseas business activity.

In the process of overseas project construction, Chinese enterprises should take into consideration both the economic efficiency and social responsibility of the local area, Su said.

Meanwhile, as the Belt and Road Initiative progresses, related countries and regions, as well as international organizations, have reached a broad consensus on policy coordination and cooperation, which will further facilitate enterprises' overseas compliance operations, he added.

This is an edited excerpt of an article originally published by Xinhua News Agency

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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