XIAMEN, CHINA - China will push ahead to open its services sector to foreigners and gradually peel away limits on the equity stakes they can take in their Chinese ventures, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said on Tuesday.

Foreign business groups say limits on access to industries ranging from logistics to insurance are among their top concerns about doing business in China.

Many are also frustrated about rules that cap the equity stakes they may hold in their joint ventures, which in most cases limit them to below a majority stake, "We will actively and steadily push ahead with the opening of the services sector, and gradually reduce the equity stake restrictions on foreign investment," Chen told a forum in the coastal city of Xiamen.

Chen also reiterated Beijing was planning to allow foreign firms to list on Chinese stock exchanges, but he did not give details or a timeframe.

He added that China would encourage foreign investment in clean energy and for foreign firms to invest more in the relatively underdeveloped central and western parts of the country.