Wen made the remarks at a working conference held by the State Council. All four vice-premiers and all five State councilors attended the conference.

Wu Guanzheng, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and He Yong, member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, were both invited to the meeting.

Wen said the anti-corruption efforts are vital to the future of the CPC and China.

"The CPC Central Committee and the State Council will continue to regard the job as a major political task," he said.

He said that, while the previous administration had made marked progress in this respect, the CPC's 16th National Congress had demanded further efforts to build a clean government.

"We should take more effective measures to meet the requirements in the next five years," he said to his cabinet.

He said, in addition to more severe punishment for corrupt officials, the supervision of administrative power should be strengthened.

He asked government officials to be more stringent with regard to their own conduct and with that of their subordinates and family members in order to resist temptation.

The government reform of the administrative approval system, financial management, State assets supervision and the personnel system should be continued, said the premier.

Inappropriate fee collections in places such as schools, hospitals and rural areas should be eliminated, he said.

(China Daily March 28, 2003)