The State Administration for Industry and Commerce has detected 1,722 bribery cases in the industrial and commercial sectors this year, involving a total of 409 million yuan.

It said that a large number of cases are still waiting to be investigated.

Most of the cases involved the purchase and distribution of medicines, land use, property right deals and government procurement, it said.

China has intensified investigation of commercial bribery after Premier Wen Jiabao promised to crack down on bribery in the year's Government Work Report.

Many sectors from construction and medicare to finance have mapped out plans to crack down on commercial bribery. Earlier this month, the Ministry of Construction publicized 20 serious cases as a way of warning government employees and officials who may be tempted to abuse their power.

The administration said it has set up a special team to lead the anti-bribery campaign and an information center to collect clues about serious cases.

(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2006)