Lu Lei, the head of the research office at the People's Bank of China, said the borrowing cost for Chinese companies was still rising after adjusting for inflation, and Tuesday's 25-basis-point cut in interest rates should temper that.

He told reporters the recent moves in the yuan had also affected liquidity levels in the Chinese financial system. Tuesday's reduction in the RRR should help financial institutions to overcome volatile liquidity conditions.

(Reporting by Clark Li and Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Angus MacSwan)