BEIJING -- China's central bank pumped cash into the banking system via reverse repos to maintain liquidity on Wednesday.

The People's Bank of China injected 120 billion yuan (about $16.8 billion) into the market through seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 2.2 percent.

The move aims to keep liquidity in the banking system at a reasonably sufficient level, according to a statement on the website of the central bank.

No reverse repos matured Wednesday.

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.

China's central bank pledged in its first-quarter monetary policy report that it will step up counter-cyclical adjustments to support the real economy, make the prudent monetary policy more flexible and appropriate, and continue to deepen the reforms of the market-oriented interest rate and the yuan exchange rate formation system.