The State Council gave foreign investors a clear signal on Thursday, welcoming their participation in the country's mixed-ownership reforms as well as in making improvements to its security review mechanisms - a step indicating continued movement toward reforms necessary to attract more foreign investors.

Foreign investors are invited to take part in the country's reform and reorganization of State-owned enterprises, forming joint ventures and other cooperative arrangements through overseas mergers, financing cooperation and offshore financing, the State Council said in a guideline for the development of mixed-ownership SOEs, which was released on Thursday.

The State Council released a blueprint for SOE reform in mid-September, aiming to improve the efficiency of State-owned enterprises with total assets of more than $15 trillion.