China's top securities regulator slammed Saturday the practice of leveraged acquisition with "questionable" funds, calling the buyers "barbaric."

Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, made the remarks during a meeting of the Asset Management Association of China.

He said that any attempt to acquire a majority stake in a listed firm using funds from questionable sources is crossing the line.

Liu added that acquisitions backed by insurance funds will affect the target company's share price, and could threaten the corporate governance structure.

This comes after a series of such attempts in the Chinese stock market that have sparked disputes between corporate management and cashed-up acquirers. Notable cases involve property giant Vanke, dairy giant Yili, China state construction.

Analysts say Liu's comments reflect the regulator's limitations in scrutinising over buyers' fund sources.