BEIJING - China plans to set up an agency to link regulatory efforts by the central bank, market watchdogs and other monitors, a deputy finance minister said Wednesday.

Such an agency would be meant to respond to changes in China's evolving financial industry, Vice Finance Minister Li Yong said in a speech to a financial conference.

"We are trying to set up a financial supervisory coordinating system between the central bank, fiscal department and financial regulators," Li said. He didn't say what form the new body would take.

Policymakers are expected to meet later this year to discuss a possible overhaul of China's financial system. Two similar meetings have been held in recent years and both were followed by major changes in China's financial policies.

China is studying how to establish a deposit insurance system, Li said.

Regulators are studying the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures deposits in the event of a bank failure.

Such an agency would be intended to reassure depositors as state-owned banks are turned into freestanding institutions and cut off from government financial support.