China on Tuesday issued guidelines for Chinese enterprises that engage in overseas forest cultivation activities, the first of its kind in the world.

The Guidelines on Sustainable Management of Overseas Forests for Chinese Enterprises was jointly designed by the State Forestry Administration (SFA) and the Ministry of Commerce, according to the SFA.

Jia Zhibang, head of the SFA, said the Chinese government would encourage and support domestic enterprises to carry out forest cultivation activities in foreign countries in a manner that highlights sustainability, bio-diversity and the development of local community.

The purpose of the move is to guide relevant enterprises to help the countries or regions that are faced with difficulties in forest restoration and to help improve the livelihood of local residents, Jia said.

China will cooperate with international organizations to carry out pilot programs to improve the guidelines and will also take the guidelines as key basis for evaluating and supervising the performance of relevant enterprises, he said.

China has been active and successful in forest cultivation both at home and abroad. The country's artificial afforestation totaled 53.65 million hectares, ranking the first in the world, according to latest statistics.

So far, Chinese enterprises have invested more than 500 million yuan (US$66.19 million) in Southeast Asian countries through a UN drug-plant replacement program, according to Jia.

A total of 40 thousand hectares of forests and crops have been grown with the assistance of Chinese enterprises in those countries, said Jia, adding that the activities also contributed to local employment and economic development.

As the second largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, China is now exerting great efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At a time when many of its enterprises are going global, it also hopes to make these enterprises aware of the importance of protecting the environment of where they go, said Jia.

He said protection and restoration of forests are irreplaceable measures to ease climate change and safeguard the eco-system. As a responsible country, China attaches great importance to the protection and cultivation of forests around the world.