China shores up investment to sustain growth

The lack of capital is still a problem and more capital needs to be channeled into the real economy, said Zhuang Jian, senior economist at the Asian Development Bank.

Gao Yuwei, a researcher with the Bank of China, said the country must ensure the sufficient funds for investment, and accelerate the approval and construction process. "The country is in dire need for well-targeted and effective investment," Gao said.

The government will encourage financial institutions to streamline loan approvals for infrastructure and Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) projects, according to the statement.

Xu Shaoshi, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, said the central government budget set aside 478 billion yuan ($78.1 billion) for investment, less than 1 percent of the total fixed-asset investment.

While making good use of the budget, the country should also capitalize on private investment and make innovations in financing, Xu said.

The NDRC has established a database of PPP projects. A total of 1,043 projects were open for investment in the first phase, with total investment of around 2 trillion yuan.