BEIJING, Feb. 27 -- The value of China's overseas contracted engineering projects will rise about 15 percent in 2014, forecast the China International Contractors Association (CICA) on Thursday.

But the growth rate will be lower than last year's 17.6 percent, said CICA spokeswoman Zhang Xiang.

Zhang said risks in the sector will increase this year, due to more competition from Europe and the United States.

Chinese contractors signed new contracts worth 11.43 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 31.8 percent year on year, she said.

New contracts with Latin America topped 18.22 billion U.S. dollars, up 25 percent year on year, according to the spokeswoman.

Facing challenges from other countries, Chinese enterprises must be more innovative in bidding for financial support, Zhang said.