The government has approved the establishment of China Railway Corporation with registered capital of 1.04 trillion yuan ($165.7 billion), according to a statement released on the government's website on Thursday.

China Railway Corp will be exclusively owned by the central government.

The Ministry of Finance, representing the State Council, will be the investor while the new corporation will be supervised by the Ministry of Transport.

Sheng Guangzu, former minister of railways, will be the corporate representative of the new company.