The three-tier system aims to bring Chinese companies into compliance with US rules that would require public companies to let regulators inspect their audit records, the FT said, citing four unnamed people with knowledge of the situation.
The three broad categories include companies with non-sensitive data, sensitive data and secret data, the newspaper said.
Washington has long demanded full access to the books of Chinese companies listed in the United States, but Beijing, citing national security concerns, has banned foreign inspection of the working papers of local accounting firms.
Reuters reported in March that Chinese regulators had asked some of the country’s US-listed companies, including Alibaba, Baidu and JD.com, to be prepared to release more information about the audits.
In April, Reuters reported that Chinese and US regulators were discussing operational details of an audit agreement that Beijing hoped to sign this year to keep Chinese companies listed on US exchanges.