The government also has notably sped up the approval for fresh QFII applications in recent months.

WSJ: China May Give Foreign Pension Funds New Investment Opportunities

Currently, foreign investors have limited access to Chinese markets except through programs such as the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor, or QFII, program.

WSJ: China May Give Foreign Pension Funds New Investment Opportunities

China's main securities regulator had granted 28 new QFII licenses in the first four months of this year, compared with a total of 29 for the whole of last year.

WSJ: China May Give Foreign Pension Funds New Investment Opportunities

Guo Shuqing, the head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said that the regulator had already reached an agreement with the Chinese central bank and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to raise the QFII limit.

BBC: Chinese yuan notes

China also may soon allow QFII license holders to open new yuan-denominated onshore bank accounts, in addition to their sole existing accounts under the QFII program, that are designated for investment in China's nascent stock index futures market, the people said.

WSJ: China May Give Foreign Pension Funds New Investment Opportunities

China's securities regulator also is considering opening up the country's capital markets to international hedge funds by launching a feasibility study on broadening the scope of the QFII program to include such investors, a person familiar with the situation said last week.

WSJ: China May Give Foreign Pension Funds New Investment Opportunities