BEIJING, March 6 -- China will establish a national-level mergers and acquisitions (M&A) fund this year to further smoothen exit channels for venture capital investment and improve capital turnover efficiency, head of the country's top economic planner said Friday.

The fund is expected to guide and leverage more than 1 trillion yuan (about 145 billion U.S. dollars) of investment from various sources, Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, told a press conference on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress.