BEIJING?- China's president has promised to rein in "unreasonably high" pay for executives at government-owned companies in an apparent effort to mollify public frustration at the wealth of state industry.

President Xi Jinping's announcement, carried by the official Xinhua News Agency, comes as the Communist Party is pressing government officials to cut spending on limousines, banquets and other trappings of office.

Pay for executives at state-owned companies in industries including oil, banking and telecommunications can be hundreds of times that of the average Chinese.

Xi's announcement gave no details of changes but said companies must make sure their pay scales are "proper."

The president was quoted as saying at a Cabinet meeting that "unreasonably high and excessive incomes must be regulated."