A businesswoman from the United States (left) attends an investment and trade fair in Xiamen, Fujian province. Zhang Guojun / Xinhua

Feng Yaoxiang, CCPIT spokesman, says the research will give Chinese companies better knowledge of the markets they want to invest in.

Market demand, industrial structure, insurance policies, terrorism risk and inflation rate will all be studied to help companies avoid risks.

The research will cover most of the countries and regions along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Feng says.

The CCPIT set up 102 trade information offices to provide early warning and legal services in 2016 in major export-oriented provinces and cities, such as Zhejiang and Shanghai.

Liu Chao, deputy director-general of the council's department of legal affairs, says many countries along the two routes, including Turkey, Poland and Malaysia, have good infrastructure and industrial foundations to support their growth. But for some others, developing infrastructure and services remains crucial.

The council will also offer legal advice, consultation services and practical measures to Chinese companies regarding Section 337 investigations to improve their ability in dealing with trade remedy investigations in 2017.

Launched by the US International Trade Commission, Section 337 investigations are related to claims involving intellectual property rights.

China encountered 117 trade remedy investigations launched by 27 countries and regions, with a total of $14 billion (13.3 billion euros; 11.4 billion) involved, between January and Dec 21, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang urged the Office of the US Trade Representative on Jan 5 to treat Chinese companies objectively, as China has made significant progress in improving the protection of intellectual property in recent years.

His comments came after the trade representative recently included four e-commerce websites and six manufacturers in China on its 2016 blacklist of "notorious marketplaces".

(China Daily European Weekly 01/06/2017 page28)