A third stock exchange to serve small and medium-sized businesses will come up in China, reports BBC. Chinese President Xi Jinping said the new market will be built in Beijing, during a speech to the International Fair for Trade in Services.

Currently, China has two major markets based in the Shanghai financial hub and the southern city of Shenzhen.

This comes as Chinese companies are under intense pressure at home and in the US.

Also Read | China bans men not ‘masculine enough’ from TV, calls them ‘girlie guns’

Though President Xi did not give any details of the new exchange, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) published a statement shortly after his speech that said its leadership was “excited” at the prospect.

According to the report, companies can register in the same manner to Shanghai’s STAR market.

At present, Chinese companies have been under increasingly scrutiny, by both Beijing and Washington.

Also Read | China’s first high-speed train in Tibet carries out first military mission

In the past few months, China has tried to control impact on large parts of the country’s private sector – from tech giants and tutoring firms to music streaming platforms and TV companies.

Along with a new measures imposed on companies, Chinese authorities have intensified their oversight of firms with share listings in the US.

Chinese electric car maker BYD, last week, suspend its plan to sell shares in its computer chip making unit. This made it the latest share offering hit badly by Beijing’s crackdown on businesses.

Also Read | Hong Kong jails seven activists for 2019 protests, judge says rights ‘not absolute’

Earlier this month, China, while unveiling a five-year plan, outlined a tighter regulation of much of its economy.

Meanwhile the Wall Street regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in United States said Chinese companies will now have to give extra information aiming to sell shares in the US.