China's central bank conducted 35.9 billion yuan (about 5.01 billion U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.5 percent on Thursday.

The move aims to keep liquidity in the banking system at an adequate level, the central bank said.

A reverse repo is a process in which the central bank purchases securities from commercial banks through bidding, with an agreement to sell them back in the future.