BEIJING, DECEMBER 28, 2009 - Wen warns against official corruption

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, whose government is fighting official corruption, asked auditors to be more watchful of embezzlement and waste of public funds.

Speaking at a national auditing conference in Beijing, Wen urged participants to be especially alert to poorly built or vanity projects and to have closer follow-up scrutiny of public funds, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The report, citing National Audit Office figures, said nearly $35 billion of public funds had been misappropriated and about half that amount wasted in the first 11 months this year.

The premier said auditors should strengthen budget enforcement procedures to guarantee open and transparent fiscal budgets for governments at all levels.