China aims to adopt a long awaited reform to let companies and investors have more say in new share offerings as early as May, after leaders asked the country’s equivalent of a parliament to approve adjustments to the current securities law later this month, two people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

The clarification came after China's State Council, or its cabinet, on Wednesday set a two-year time frame for moving from the current approval-based system for IPOs to one that requires registration only.