When the Ningbo-based dyed mélange yarn provider Bros Eastern first thought of investing in Vietnam, the company established a subsidiary as its production base in 2012.

In its early days in Vietnam, the manufacturer used a consulting service to help choose a site location, negotiate with the government and navigate legal and banking issues.

After the second phase of the subsidiary, Brotex (Viet Nam), went into operation and started selling.

During its third phase, the company secured a $40 million loan - $28 million from the Ningbo Branch of Bank of China and $12 million from Ho Chi Minh Branch.

Brotex later established the Phuoc Dong Business Park-Ningbo Park in cooperation with another Ningbo textile company, Shenzhou International Group. The park encouraged textile and clothing enterprises to move to the Vietnam industrial park to find their feet. Brotex started to act as the Vietnamese liaison office for its fellow Ningbo enterprises.

Brotex is just one example of a Chinese small and medium-sized company helping others in their field expand overseas to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

"With the rising opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative, a new trend on Chinese companies' road towards going global is that more small and medium-sized enterprises have been attracted to group together, heading to the overseas market," said Ren Yueyuan, a researcher at the Center for China and Globalization.