Employees of China State Construction Engineering Corp work on a highway project in Wuhan, Hubei province, in January. [Photo/China Daily]

China will strive to transform its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) into modern entities that meet the requirements of Chinese modernization, said an official with the country's top state-asset regulator on Tuesday.

The centrally-administered SOEs should adhere to market-oriented, law-based and international reforms, improve the modern corporate system with distinctive Chinese features, accelerate the establishment of a flexible, efficient and market-oriented operating mechanism, and enhance their core competitiveness and functions, said Zhang Yuzhuo, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

SOEs are an important element and force in promoting Chinese modernization, Zhang said, adding that the enterprises should shoulder their new responsibilities and missions in promoting Chinese modernization.

China started implementing a three-year action plan for SOE reform in 2020 as part of the decades-long efforts to transform SOEs into competitive and modern enterprises. Currently, there are 98 central SOEs in China.