"This will remain a priority for the ministry for a relatively long period of time," said Sun Jianyong, general director of the ministry's Social Security Fund Supervision Department.

Sun made the remarks at a recent workshop on social security fund supervision, held in Shanghai.

The social security funds relating to pension, unemployment and medical care are listed as the main objectives of the coming sweeping overhaul across the nation.

"Any irregularity and wrongdoing should be corrected," said Sun.

Some problems still exist in social security fund utilization and there is evidence of money, which was subsidized by central government, being embezzled by local governments.

"To avoid those wrongdoings, we should strengthen supervision during the whole process of management," said Sun.

He suggested that a complete supervision system, which involves related government departments, special supervisory organizations and public and social security fund management companies, should be set up.

In another development, China's national social security system is expected to be allowed to start investing in the stock market this year, a move that will expand its resources and increase overall investment in the bourses.

More than 30 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion) of fresh funds will filter into the market in this way, with more local pension funds following.

This is the Chinese Government's first attempt at a securities investment scheme for social security funds, which faced a huge deficit, but were limited to either the making of bank deposits or the purchase of treasury bonds.

The market-driven experiment will start with the national foundation, which was set up two years ago by the State Council as a special agency to handle social security funds and now controls about 80 billion yuan (US$9.7 billion), said Cui Shaomin, a researcher at the Social Insurance Research Institute under the ministry.

(China Daily January 28, 2003)