China's top securities regulator said Wednesday that it will promote the regulatory cooperation mechanism for China-U.S. audit oversight.

"[This will] create a more stable and predictable environment for international regulatory cooperation," the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a statement.

The U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) confirmed on December 15 that it could fully inspect and investigate accounting firms headquartered in China in 2022, thus reversing its relevant determinations made in 2021.

The CSRC said, "We welcome the PCAOB's decision to vacate its previous determinations based on professional and regulatory considerations."

On August 26, the CSRC, China's finance ministry, and the PCAOB signed an agreement on audit oversight cooperation. The agreement established a framework for bilateral cooperation in the inspection and investigation of accounting firms.

Chinese mainland, Hong Kong financial cooperation

The CSRC also said it would deepen cooperation between the capital markets of the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

"[We will] support Hong Kong in consolidating its status as an international financial center," said the CSRC.

The top securities regulators from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong said Monday they had agreed to expand the range of stocks eligible under the Stock Connect program between the two capital markets.

The move seeks to further deepen mutual stock market access between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong and promote the development of both capital markets, according to a joint statement released by the CSRC and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.

Improving the quality of listed companies

In the statement, the CSRC vowed to "fully implement a new round of three-year action plan to promote the quality improvement of listed companies."

It will continue to treat state-owned enterprises and private enterprises equally and continuously optimize the structure and improve the overall quality of listed companies, according to the statement.

Stable development of the real estate market

The CSRC said it would "strongly support the stable development" of China's real estate market.

It vowed to speed up the implementation of various supporting measures to help transform the real estate development model.

According to the CSRC, Chinese banks have lent property developers 2.64 trillion yuan ($368.7 billion) from January to October in a move to stabilize the real estate market.

Chinese authorities have put forward a number of measures to support the proper financing needs of real estate companies, including expanding a central bank-backed debt financing tool and issuing a special loan of 200 billion yuan to guarantee the delivery of property projects.

(With input from Xinhua)