The decision to hold this year's 2013 Fortune Global Forum in Chengdu has piqued the interest of many foreign companies that had previously been shy about investing in the Sichuan capital.

"It is much more open-door than before," Yong Zhao, head of the British Chamber of Commerce in Chengdu, told British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

"It does not have to be a joint venture any more. You have a local government that is more than willing to help. It is enthusiastic."