Market-rescue measures won't change reform agenda: securities watchdog

China's securities regulator said Friday that certain contingency measures to curb market turmoil are short-term policies that will not change the country's market-oriented reform agenda.

When the capital market undergoes wild swings or other abnormalities, it is necessary for the government to step in and take measures such as slowing or suspending approvals of new initial public offerings (IPOs), Zhang Xiaojun, spokesman for the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said at a news conference.

Zhang's comments came in response to concerns that the country's market-rescue efforts will hamper reforms that aim to let the market play a "decisive" role in the economy.

China will continue to stick to its market-oriented reforms, and this "did not and will not change," he said.

However, he did not mention an exit strategy for these measures.

The country has pledged to end the existing approval-based IPO system and switch to a registration system, which Zhang said is a crucial part of China's capital market reforms and should be done in a gradual and steady manner.

This followed a rout in China's stock markets starting in mid-June, when authorities' crackdown on margin financing, in addition to frothy market conditions, triggered a massive sell-off that at its worst knocked more than 30 percent off the key Shanghai index from its June peak.

To restore shattered investor confidence, the government has stepped in with various measures, including pouring in funds and restricting futures trading on a major small-cap index.

It also banned major shareholders, corporate executives and directors who hold more than 5 percent of a company's shares from selling stakes in listed companies for six months, starting July 8.

Zhang said the CSRC has uncovered 52 cases of companies illegally reducing shareholdings, warning that such reductions are contrary to regulations. Endi