China's Auditing Administration is to increase its focus on public funds and issues of particular public concern this year, and administration official has said.

The official said Tuesday that the administration would not only supervise expenditure of public funds, which already account for 80 percent of its work, but also consider whether the spending is worthwhile.

Auditing of projects of public concern had also been raised on the administration's schedule this year, including prices of university teaching materials, the use of the public fund for AIDS prevention, and the investment in the rebuilding of the Palace Museum.

"Auditing on such issues will curb waste caused by inappropriate policy-making and governmental administration," the official said.

The administration's work covered a wide range of subjects, including government finances, infrastructure construction and environmental protection projects, social security, and the use of foreign investment.

"Many of the projects under auditing are closely linked to ordinary people's lives," said the official, citing the resettlement program for the Three Gorges Project, anti-desertification projects in north China, and highway tolls.

The official said audits of financial institutions would be pushed forward and involve the Bank of China, the Bank of Communications, and China Merchants Bank. The books of the China National Salt Corp. and other seven major state-owned enterprises would also be reviewed.

The purchase of emergency and rescue facilities for coal mines would also be investigated and audited, the official said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2006)