BEIJING, May 23  -- China will relax the approval process for foreign companies planning to invest in China, while strengthening national security reviews, the country's top economic planning body said Friday.

From June 17 this year, China will adopt a system of "limited approval" and "general registration" instead of the existing "all-round approval" mechanism, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, the national security review over potential investment projects by foreign companies will be strengthened, it added.

All planned investment projects by foreign firms, excluding those required by the "Foreign Investment Industrial Guidance Catalogue" to have Chinese stakes, need only registration before proceeding.

Projects listed among the first to 11th items of the 2013 catalogue of investment projects requiring government approval still need to obtain government approval, the NDRC said.