Stimulated by the “One Belt and One Road” initiative, 2015 will see a new surge in China’s investment in foreign agriculture, which may give rise to an overseas agricultural market of 750 billion yuan, according to experts at a recent 2015 Agri-business Development Forum.

With the implementation of a globalization strategy for China’s agricultural industry, the 60-plus countries along the "Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “Maritime Silk Road” will bring a great opportunity to China.

Cheng Guoqiang, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council says: “If China wants its agriculture to stand out in the world, a global strategy will be required, which needs to coordinate domestic and foreign markets and resources. The One Belt and One Road initiative is a great chance to enhance China’s overseas investment, reshape the international rules on agriculture, and safeguard the stability of international markets. ”

In fact, overseas investment of China’s agriculture has a history of several decades. According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, by the end of 2013, China's total investment in agriculture abroad has reached 3.9 billion U.S. dollars. 443 overseas agricultural firms have been set up by 373 domestic institutional investors.

In fact, food security is not only a concern of China but also a common focus of countries along the One Belt and One Road. Food cooperation is one of the strongest unifiers of the community of interests and destiny. According to statistics from 2014, the total import value of China’s agricultural products from the countries along the Belt and Road is 22.8 billion U.S. dollars, comprising 19 percent of China's total agricultural imports. The value of exports to the countries along the Belt and Road is 21 billion U.S. dollars, making up 29 percent of China’s agricultural exports.

Liu Yang, senior analyst at CITIC Securities says that compared with other countries along the One Belt and One Road, China has strong competitiveness and strengths in research and development, as well as the capability to invest money, technology and talent.