Xiao Yaqing (L), chief of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), arrives at a press conference on the reform of state-owned enterprises in Beijing, March 12, 2016.[Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/chinadaily.com.cn]

China's restructuring of State-owned enterprises or SOEs will not cause a "wave of lay-offs", said Xiao Yaqing, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, in Beijing on Saturday.

China is stepping up efforts to restructure major SOEs and reduce overcapacity in some sectors like steel and cement. This is expected to result in the closure of some loss-making firms.

The expectation has raised concerns about possible massive lay-offs of the kind witnessed in China's corporate reform in the 1990s.

"Reform should maintain a balance among different interests, and the interests of the employees (of SOEs concerned), in particular, should be well protected," Xiao told a media conference.

He further said the current situation is very different from that in the 1990s as the government and SOEs now are financially much more capable of ensuring that the interests of the employees are not compromised.

"There won't be a wave of lay-offs and the SASAC will supervise its enterprises to properly deal with employees' interests," he said.