SHANGHAI/BEIJING - China has issued guidelines on financial support for a "common prosperity" pilot in the eastern Zhejiang province, the central bank and other authorities said on Friday.

The guidelines, issued by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) and the Zhejiang government, pledged to promote financial opening up and innovation in Zhejiang.

"We will further deepen supply-side structural financial reforms, establish a financial system and mechanism compatible with the construction of the demonstration area of common prosperity in Zhejiang," the authorities said.

Under a drive to achieve "common prosperity", Beijing hopes to tackle the country's yawning rich-poor gap to help sustain long-term economic growth.

The pilot in Zhejiang, one of China's wealthiest, is designed to narrow the income gap there by 2025.

The province will raise caps for cross-border financing for non-financial enterprises, as well as the cap for offshore lending, according to the guidelines.

More support will be given to advanced manufacturers in Zhejiang, and banks will provide sustained support for firms involved in science and innovation, the guidelines said.

Authorities pledged to accelerate the development of high-quality listed companies, and speed up the development of modern industries through mergers and acquisitions.

Zhejiang will also improve financial services for its rural sector and enable people to have fair access to financial services.

The province will be allowed to use special local government bonds to fund qualified affordable rental housing projects, they added.

(Reporting by Jason Xue and Kevin Yao; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Chizu Nomiyama)