China's securities regulator is strengthening its ability to discover evidence of market manipulation and other irregularities, according to an article on the website of the state-owned paper Legal Daily.

Citing information obtained from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the article said that the regulator was drafting steps to strengthen its ability to discover and prove the existence of market irregularities.

The moves include pushing for joint information "channels" with the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, and the China Financial Futures Exchange.

The number of new cases under investigation had climbed rapidly from 2012 to 2015, but the number of inspectors had not kept pace, according to the article.

Following the equity market crash last summer, policymakers led a broad crackdown on alleged financial market manipulation which has ensnared top executives at a number of Chinese financial institutions.

In January, the director of the CSRC pledged to strengthen market oversight, following a new bout of volatility.