China’s State Council approved a series of measures to promote the development of financial leasing. State-owned news agency Xinhua reported the aim is to make the sector “better serve the real economy”.

Accelerating development of financial leasing could ease financing difficulties and costs, spur investment on equipment and help upgrade the country’s industry, said a statement released by the State Council, after a meeting on Wednesday chaired by China’s Premier Li Keqiang.

Measures approved included a push for a reduction in red tape and the removal of minimum capital thresholds for financial leasing companies when setting up subsidiaries.

Export of equipment and international production capacity co-operation aided by financial leasing would be encouraged, added the statement, quoted by Xinhua.

“The development of financial leasing will… create more opportunities for international industrial capacity co-operation and the ‘going global’ of Chinese enterprises,” Cong Lin, chief executive of ICBC Financial Leasing, told state-run newspaper China Daily. ICBC Financial Leasing is a specialist leasing unit of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China’s largest lender.

China’s financial leasing market is forecast to hit 5 trillion yuan (US$780 billion) during the first half of 2016 and become the world’s largest, according to the China Financial Leasing Association.

The State Council meeting also decided to reduce fees collected during export and import procedures, in order to encourage international trade.