BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to ease market access and step up financial support for private investment and businesses, a senior official said Thursday.

The country will ease restrictions on private investment into sectors such as infrastructure, public services, elderly care and health care, Yan Pengcheng, spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said at a press conference.

Yan said the country will encourage local governments to set up infrastructure private investment funds and encourage financial institutions to use big data technology to grant loans to private businesses.

The government will also work to improve the business environment and enhance protection of property rights, he said.

The country also seeks to attract private investment to build civil airports and high-speed railways, NDRC official Ou Hong said.

With the supportive policies coming through, Han Zhifeng, another official with the NDRC, expected private investment to maintain stable growth.

The country's private investment, which accounts for more than 60 percent of the total fixed-asset investment, rose 8.8 percent year on year in the first seven months of the year. The pace of growth accelerated from the 8.4-percent rise registered in the first half of the year.

At the end of 2017, private businesses accounted for more than 60 percent of China's GDP and provided more than 80 percent of urban jobs.