Property developers' interest in commercial real estate in China has been running high despite growing concerns about oversupply in the sector.

Swire Group, a leading developer, owner and operator of mixed-use commercial properties in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, is looking for land on which to develop new projects.

"Oversupply depends on the market," says John Slosar, chairman of Swire Pacific. "More important, as a long-term investor in China, our business plan will not change merely because of the short-term fluctuations in the market."

Recent research shows that risks are rising in China's commercial property sector, with a surplus of space in big cities. Most office and retail markets in the country will face pressure in 2014 from a supply glut, according to a report from CBRE, a global real estate and investment firm.

Supplies nationwide reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2013, with 1.77 million square meters of office space delivered. More than 70 percent was in second-tier cities.

The new office supply in western China alone - Chengdu and Chongqing - reached 764,000 sq m, accounting for more than 40 percent of the national total. The average vacancy rate went up by 0.9 percentage points to 15.2 percent.

According to research by Cushman & Wakefield Inc, the world's largest private real estate services company, the new supply of commercial property in the 30 cities it monitors will total 75 million square meters over the next few years, with a new supply peak of 20 million sq m this year. The company forecasts that about 18 million sq m in new commercial space will enter the market next year.

"If we still believe that over the long term we can attract customers, attract brands and generate sales in our retail properties, then we are fine with the market fluctuation," Slosar says. "We intend to not worry too much about that in the next three, six, nine or 12 months."

Slosar says Swire will focus more attention on big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

"We care more about the cities that we know and have experience in. So we won't pay attention to all the cities, because we might not have the expertise there."

Swire currently has real estate projects in five cities.

YK Pang, CEO of Hong Kong Land, one of the largest property developers in Asia, held a similar view.

"We will continue to develop commercial projects in China, as the market is so important for us," Pang says. "If we are confident about a city's economic prospects and customer demand in the long run, the short-term pressure is not a big problem. Our commitment to China is not five years but maybe 125 years."

Hong Kong Land has a large-scale commercial development in Beijing. The project, recently named WF Central, occupies a prime site of about 21,000 sq m in Wangfujing Street in Dongcheng district. It will offer about 50,000 sq m of luxury retail space as well as a 74-room Mandarin Oriental hotel.