The Communist Party of China's (CPC) top anti-corruption official Friday urged tighter supervision and inspection to avoid corruption in state-owned enterprises (SOE).

He Guoqiang, secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, made the remarks when inspecting major SOEs.

He also asked for the strengthening of anti-corruption regulations.

Improvements should be made in areas including education, supervision, reform and prevention systems in these enterprises, he said.

He also highlighted SOES' importance to China amid the global financial crisis and asked them to make a bigger contribution to economic growth and help maintain stable, relatively rapid economic growth.

(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2009)