BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China will expand the mixed ownership reform to more than 100 state-owned enterprises (SOEs), an official with the country's state-asset regulator said Saturday.

"There will be more than 100 SOEs in the fourth batch of mixed ownership reform, which will be pushed ahead in key areas," Xiao Yaqing, head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, said at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual legislative session.

Since 2016, China has selected 50 SOEs in three batches to conduct the pilot reform in fields including power, energy, civil aviation, telecommunications, and defense.

The first three batches have done a good job in exploring and experimenting with the means, equity ratio and governance structure of mixed ownership, Xiao said.

Next, China will create a sound environment for the reform so that enterprises of all kinds of ownership can realize integrated and common development, he added.