The China-ASEAN Business Council will set up a business advisory committee of 33 Chinese and ASEAN companies next January. The committee will assist Chinese companies that are looking to expand into ASEAN countries, which has a free trade agreement with China.

The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area went into effect at the beginning of the year, and Chinese officials worry that many Chinese businesses still know little about the agreement.

"Some [companies] are not familiar with the economic policy and information in ASEAN countries, nor do they have a wide business network there," said Xu Ningning, executive vice secretary-general of the China-ASEAN Business Council Chinese Secretariat.

Xu said companies must remain rational when exploring ASEAN markets, paying close attention to economic and trade plans and carrying out feasibility studies. The business advisory committee will provide firms with resources to do so. Each of the 11 CAFTA countries will recommend three consulting firms for the committee.

"Businesses need to make efforts to seek more partners for trade and investment cooperation," Xu said. "Professional expos, such as the Canton Fair in Guangzhou and China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, are a great channel."

Investments between ASEAN countries and China totaled US$70 billion in the first nine months of the year. But Chinese investments in ASEAN countries accounted for only US$10 billion.

"Such a gap indicates the prospect of its fast growth in the future," Xu said.