China should speed up the development of the corporate bond market, according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

CSRC is committed to "improving corporate bond market entrance and the bond issuance approval process and developing better credit ratings," Shang Fulin, the chairman of the regulatory body, said at a financial forum in Shanghai on Saturday.

The CSRC is making efforts to encourage companies to reduce their reliance on bank lending, he said.

Chinese bond sales surged to 1.96 trillion yuan ($288 billion) last year from 981 billion yuan, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Issuance on China's over-the-counter interbank market has also jumped. Some 255 billion yuan of commercial paper and medium-term notes were issued in the first quarter of 2010 on the interbank market, compared with 91 billion yuan of corporate bonds, according to China Lianhe Credit Rating Co.

Last year some 1.2 trillion yuan was issued, compared with 497 billion yuan in corporate bonds, according to Bloomberg data.

Shang Fulin also said China will steadily expand margin trading and short selling, and develop financial derivatives.