Wuxi residents will soon be able to get from Wuxi to Cambodia's beautiful coastline in just a few hours with direct flights to open linking the East China's Jiangsu province city and Sihanoukville, Cambodia on June 23.

The Wuxi Sunan Shuofang International Airport will begin running weekly direct flights to Sihanoukville in Cambodia from June 23.

Earlier in March, the city held an investment promotion conference in Hong Kong, encouraging local enterprises to cooperate with Wuxi counterparts in overseas investment, especially at the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone (SSEZ) in Cambodia.

The SSEZ is an economic and trade cooperation zone that has seen the settlement of more than 100 global enterprises and helped 14,000 local people gain employment.

Wuxi has long had close ties with the southern Cambodian city. They became sister cities in 2009. For years, many Wuxi-based enterprises have taken advantage of the opportunities presented at the SSEZ. With the region's low labor costs and trade advantages, these companies have not only experienced expansion and profit growth, but also created many job opportunities as well as contributing to the regional economy.

Wuxi's pillar enterprise Hongdou Group is one of the many Chinese and Cambodian firms that took part in the investment and construction of the state-level overseas economic zone since 2008, helping it become a model area of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

By the end of 2016, the city has carried out 271 investment projects in countries alongside the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road with a contracted investment volume of $1.52 billion.