China is injecting $54bn (£40bn) into its financial sector, as Beijing seeks to strengthen banks and insurers and encourage greater lending and stock market investment amid persistently weak economic growth. The move underlines official concern about the health of the world's second-largest economy, with authorities relying on state institutions, including the finance ministry and the national tobacco monopoly, to funnel fresh capital into key financial firms.

Insurers are receiving substantial sums: China Life Insurance will get 35bn yuan, China Taiping Insurance Group 7bn yuan, and the People's Insurance Company of China plans to raise up to 15bn yuan via a private share placement to the finance ministry. The funds are intended to help insurers, many of which have seen profitability and solvency ratios weaken due to low interest rates, support the stock market and manage riskier smaller firms. Separately, three state lenders will share a combined 290bn yuan, while Agricultural Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China aim to raise up to 160bn and 100bn yuan respectively, extending a recapitalisation scheme first outlined at March's parliamentary meeting to bolster lending amid weak loan demand.