China joined the ranks of the world's top 10 most improved economies for ease of doing business for the second year in a row thanks to a robust reform agenda, the World Bank Group's Doing Business 2020 study says.

China carried out a record eight business reforms during the 12 months to May 1 and ranked 31st globally on the ease of doing business rankings with a score of 77.9 out of 100. It ranked 46th last year and 78th in 2017.

"China has undertaken substantial efforts to improve the domestic business climate for small and medium-size enterprises, maintaining an active pace of reforms," said Martin Raiser, World Bank Country Director for China. "Laudable progress has been achieved on a number of Doing Business indicators, particularly in the area of construction permitting."