The second Belt and Road Forum has many upgrades compared to the first. A CEO conference will be held on Thursday morning, where some 900 business leaders from 88 countries and regions will gather to discuss cooperation opportunities, including representatives from 90 global Fortune 500 companies. 

At a press briefing on Wednesday, Chen Zhou, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade said apart from a plenary session joined by heads of international institutions and ministerial-level officials from various countries, the conference will also feature a deal signing ceremony of new projects, as well as close to 1,000 one-on-one symposiums between company leaders.

The CEO conference has also attracted many private companies to seek potential deal opportunities. 

Ma Jun, director-general of the Liaison Department of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce said trade ties between China's private firms and their counterparts across the Belt and Road has been strengthening, with their trade volume reaching 620 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, growing by 12 percent year-on-year. 

State-owned companies continue to focus more on infrastructure building along the Belt and Road. Xia Qingfeng, director-general of the publicity department of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, said Chinese state-owned enterprises are managing 3120 projects along the Belt and Road, covering sectors such as energy and industrial parks.