China's government said the nation's financial system must “better” serve economic growth under a prudent monetary-policy framework as the cost of borrowing on the interbank market surged.

Authorities will boost credit support for industries the government has defined as strategic and those that are labor-intensive, the State Council, or Cabinet, said in Beijing today after a meeting led by Premier Li Keqiang. The nation must more firmly guard against financial risks, according to a statement on the central government's website.

The comments follow a jump in the seven-day repurchase rate, a gauge of interbank funding availability, to the highest level since June 2011. Slowing economic growth combined with a crackdown on illegal capital inflows, efforts to rein in shadow banking, and a campaign to control home prices have contributed to increased borrowing costs. The central bank has refrained from using reverse-repurchase agreements to inject funds into the interbank market since Feb. 7.