China will heighten scrutiny of overseas trips by government officials to curb worsening abuse of public funds by high-flying cadres as China's international exchanges grow, state media reported on Friday.

The amount of expenses available for business trips will be restricted and officials will face audits even before travelling, the China Daily said.

"With the country widening international exchanges in recent years, some officials have taken advantage of overseas trips in order to pocket public funds," it said.The paper cited the case of a high-ranking law enforcement official who forged an invitation to visit Finland in 2006 so he could travel there at public expense.

Xu Wenai was later removed from his post as vice procurator-general of eastern China's Anhui province.His 10-member delegation had been refused entry in November 2006 by Finnish authorities who questioned the crudely forged "official" invitation. Xu also had added several other destinations to the itinerary.

China is struggling to control an escalation in government corruption by officials dipping into state funds or trying to get a cut of business activity they are supposed to be regulating.No other details on the tighter restrictions were given.