Chinese President Xi Jinping (top) makes a speech during an event at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on July 1, 2021, to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged Thursday that China will set up a stock exchange in Beijing, the third of its kind in the mainland after Shanghai and Shenzhen, in an attempt to foster smaller companies.