BEIJING - China's economic diplomacy will face growing challenges in the form of trade and exchange rate disputes, as well as the task of protecting overseas investment interests, over the next few years, experts said on Sunday.

Next year will be an election year for the Unite States and France, and there is an increasing possibility for the two countries to use the "China threat" as an excuse for not dealing with their own economic issues, which will put Chinese diplomacy under pressure, said Ding Yifan, deputy director of the Institute of World Development of the Development Research Center of the State Council at a seminar on Chinese diplomacy.

During the first half of 2012, several countries will remain in a grave debt crisis and may even see their crises deepen, Ding said, adding that this situation may create friction between China, the United States and Europe.

Additionally, protecting China's growing overseas investments will pose new challenges for the country's diplomacy, Ding said.

Chen Fengying, director of the Institute of World Economic Studies under the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, agreed that the protection of China's overseas investment interests will be an important task for Chinese diplomacy.

During the past three decades, China has invested in more than 170 countries and regions, with outbound direct foreign investment topping $170 billion.

In the past 30 years, China has been focused on "bringing in" foreign investment; it may do more to facilitate its "going out" in the future, Chen said.

Chinese economic diplomacy will serve the country's economic construction and the protection of its overseas interests, national interests and security, Chen said, adding that China's position in the world is closely related to its economic diplomacy.

Chen said China has made several achievements in international economic governance, reflected by China's growing influence in the international arena and the posts held by Chinese officials in important international organizations.