BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- China's central authorities made public a plan on Friday to step up auditing of overseas investment by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and strengthen supervision of state-owned capital.

The plan, jointly issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, is aimed at helping boost the vitality, competitiveness and risk-resistance of state-owned businesses.

The country will enhance supervision over state assets through strict audits of SOEs, their overseas investment and state-owned capital as well as performance assessment of state company managers, according to the plan posted on the government website.

The country will also promote progress in SOE reforms, protect the safety of state assets and enhance capital returns, it said.

As of the end of 2016, total assets of China's SOEs hit 131.72 trillion yuan (about 19.1 trillion U.S. dollars), according to statistics from the Ministry of Finance.