Shang Fulin, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), made the remark when meeting with Eddy C. Fong, chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission Hong Kong (SFC),in Beijing.

Shang said the CSRC supported Hong Kong's status as an international financial center.

The two commissions had cooperated closely since mainland enterprises started to list on the Hong Kong stock market in 1990s,he said.

Listing in Hong Kong had enabled mainland enterprises to raise more capital and improve operations by learning their foreign counterparts.

However, now they did so with a view to strengthening corporate governance and sharpening international competitiveness, said Shang, citing the successive listings of mainland commercial banksin Hong Kong as an important step in the country's ongoing banking reforms.

Fong said Hong Kong needed mainland support in consolidating its international financial center status.

Capital markets in the mainland and Hong Kong would continue to cooperate, said Fong, adding the mainland boasted abundant capital and Hong Kong enjoyed a mature market.

By the end of July, 351 Chinese mainland enterprises had listed in the Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing Limited (HKEx), with about 4.42 trillion HK dollars (569 billion U.S. dollars) of market capitalization, accounting for 44 percent of the market's total.