BEIJING - China lauded MSCI for its decision on inclusion of Shanghai and Shenzhen listed stocks into the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, said a spokesperson for the securities regulator on Wednesday.

"The MSCI inclusion responds to the needs of international investors and shows investors' confidence on Chinese economy and financial market. We always welcome this," said Zhang Xiaojun, a spokesperson for the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).

China's capital market will welcome overseas investors in a more open manner, Zhang said.

"The MSCI inclusion is both a challenge and an opportunity for China's capital market. We will continue the reform to make it more market-oriented, internationalized and governed by law and help it grow steadily," he said.

The spokesperson vowed to protect investors' legitimate rights, improve the capital market's competence to serve the real economy and increase its international influence.

"The CSRC will work with relevant parties to further improve the rules and regulations for overseas investors to invest in A-shares and facilitate their investment in various ways including tracking the MSCI index," said Zhang.

Global equity indexes provider MSCI announced Tuesday in the United States (Wednesday in Beijing) that beginning in June 2018, it will include China A-shares in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index) Index.