The People's Bank of China is out with a statement now, via Reuters, urging banks to increase lending to SMEs.

In a notice issued on Thursday, the PBOC further said it will boost financial institutions' confidence to lend to small firms.

Separately, Global Times reported that “China's State Council, the cabinet, on Wednesday held what has been seen as an unprecedented national video teleconference on stabilizing the economy with reportedly upwards of 100,000 participants, including officials of various levels, stressing the need to better implement measures to safeguard market entities, employment, people's livelihood and keep the economy operating in a reasonable range.”

Market reaction

USD/CNY was last seen trading at 6.7101, adding 0.27% on the day.