China is revisiting its investment and financing guidelinesin order to spur market activity amid an economic slowdown, Xinhua News Agencyreported July 19, citing a document from central authorities

The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the country'sState Council jointly issued new guidelines to encourage private investment andhelp ease funding difficulties for small companies.

The measures look to enhance private investment management,reinforce public investment, diversify corporate financing channels andaccelerate the transformation of government functions.

Under the guidelines, firms and financial institutions inChina will be granted easier access to foreign capital and rules on insurancecapital will be eased to projects in infrastructure, livelihood andurbanization. The government also plans to launch pilots that enable financialintuitions to hold corporate equities.

According to official data, private investment in China grewonly 2.8% in the first half, down from 3.9% in the first five months of 2016and 5.7% in the first quarter.