China will accelerate liberalization of interest rates and encourage a multilayered capital market as the country seeks to adapt to a “new normal” of slower growth, according to an official at the central bank.

China will move ahead with deregulation of interest rates to make its financial system more competitive and more comprehensive, capable of discovering and fostering new growth engines, Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, said today at a conference in Beijing. The country also needs to build a multilayered capital market, increasing the role of equity financing to let more companies access funds, he said.

While China’s economy is heading for its weakest full-year expansion since 1990, its leaders have called the slowdown part of a “new normal,” signaling tolerance for a lower rate of expansion as they tackle structural imbalances, corruption, pollution and debt, and push pro-market policies.

“The economic new normal places new challenges on financial reform,” Pan said in a speech. “New growth engines will rely on the market forces.”

Pan’s speech comes after some criticism that the central bank’s unexpected move last month to cut its deposit and lending rates for the first time in more than two years was a cave-in to pro-growth policies. Economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc and UBS AG all said the central bank will act again to shore-up demand.

The central bank will also introduce certificates of deposits to companies and individuals, Pan said. Regulators will complete a “negative list” of prohibited and restricted activities, an approach that lets companies do anything that’s not specifically banned, he said.