BEIJING -- China's State Council held an executive meeting Wednesday, to examine and approve in principle the draft of the regulations on the administration of foreign-funded banks.

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The formulation of the regulations is aimed to meet the requirements of China's opening to the outside world and economic growth as well as to strengthen and improve the supervision and administration over foreign-funded banks and for the stable operation of the whole banking industry in the country, according to the meeting.

The meeting, which was chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, also studied the issue of readjusting and regrouping state-owned companies.

The participants agreed that the country has made major breakthroughs in reforming the managerial system of state-owned enterprises. They called the readjustment and regrouping of state-owned firms "a major task for the country's economic reform."