Bank lowers lending rate to ease debts

Move will combat downside risk in face of slowing growth and capital outflows

China's central bank announced that it would lower the benchmark deposit and lending rates by 25 basis points beginning on Wednesday, hoping to further ease companies' debt burdens and curb expanding downward risks.

After the adjustment, the one-year deposit rate for financial institutions fell to 1.75 percent, and the lending rate dropped to a record low of 4.6 percent, according to the People's Bank of China.