China will publish a timetable by the end of the year to halt its domestic commercial trade in ivory, a senior official said on Monday.

Yan Xun, deputy director-general of department of wildlife conservation and nature reserve management of the State Forestry Administration, said the timetable will follow the combined efforts of various government bodies to assess the process and impact of a ban.

"At the same time, we will also evaluate the impact of bans on imported ivory and ivory products that have been in place since February 2015," Yan said.