China is likely by 2022 to surpass the United States as the world’s largest provider of capital for foreign direct investment (FDI), Chinese official newspaper China Daily reported on Wednesday, quoting a report by think tank the Center for China and Globalization.

The 2015 Report on the Globalization of Chinese Enterprises – as quoted by the newspaper – said China’s direct investment overseas is expected to hit US$367.3 billion by 2022 fuelled by rapid growth in such activity.

The authors added that strong government support and a fast-growing private sector in China would contribute to that process.

The President of the think tank, Wang Huiyao, noted – as quoted by the newspaper – the Asian power had this year been strengthening co-operation with countries covered by China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative. Chinese investment in those countries would “be stronger than expected from a long-term perspective”, the media outlet added.

The name of the initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, proposed in 2013 by China’s President Xi Jinping. The move aims to connect better the economies along the routes, and enhance trade across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa through infrastructure development.

In 2014, China’s outbound direct investment climbed 14.1 percent year-on-year to US$123.12 billion, China Daily reported.