Ministry OKs public-private partnership center

A public-private partnership center under China's Finance Ministry has been officially approved, according to the ministry's website on Tuesday, a step forward for China to advance the alternative financing model.

The center will be tasked with policy research, consultation, training, information compilation and international exchange, the website said.

PPP refers to long-term cooperation between governments and private companies on infrastructures or public services. In most cases, PPP projects are funded and operated by private investors and supervised by local governments.

The preparation work for the establishment of the center began early this year, and it was part of the plan by the ministry to push forward PPP mode. Other initiatives include rolling out a batch of PPP pilot projects and training local finance officials.

The latest move comes a week after China's State Council released an investment and financing guideline which emphasizes the significance of PPP in mobilizing private capital.

The funding method has existed since the 1980s, but got limited expansion in China as government-funded investments dominated the infrastructure development for decades.

PPP comes to the spotlight at a time when China is grappling with huge local government debt.