BEIJING — China saw 400 new public-private partnership (PPP) projects registered in the first seven months of the year, according to the country's top economic planner.

Some 134 of the projects were related to urban infrastructure, data from the National Development and Reform Commission showed.

Sectors including agriculture, forestry, water conservation, social development, transport and environmental protection also reported new PPP projects in the period.

By far, a total of 7,277 PPP projects have been registered with a national monitoring platform, the figures showed.

PPPs act as collaborative investment models between government and private companies.

Chinese authorities have been exploring funding infrastructure and public works through PPP models in recent years, aiming to reduce local government debts and provide new opportunities to private capital.