With better control over the debt-to-asset ratio, China's centrally administered State-owned enterprises will see both gross and net profit growth rates outpace the GDP growth rate this year, said Peng Huagang, secretary-general of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the nation's top State asset regulator.

Central SOEs' profit margins of operating revenue, overall labor productivity and investment in research and development are also expected to increase, Peng told a media briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.

Analysts said the new goals uphold the spirit of the annual Central Economic Work Conference in December, suggesting that from now on, SOEs will stabilize growth and make more contributions to economic growth.