The country's top think tank said private-run enterprises were the major driving force for China's charity donations in 2009.

Private sector leads donations

Private-run enterprises donated around 5.43 billion yuan ($812 million) in 2009, which accounted for about 41.35 percent of total donations from enterprises in 2009, according to an annual report on China's philanthropy development released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Tuesday.

A total of 282 private-run enterprises donated more than 1 million yuan each, which amounted to 62.9 percent of enterprises involved in charity last year, said the report.

"More private entrepreneurs want to exercise their social responsibility after accumulating huge wealth," Li Zhiyan, director of the non-profit Social Resources Institute, said in the report.

The report also said the real estate industry had been "generous" and "active" in charity donations in China last year.

Chinese organizations received donations totaling 33.2 billion yuan in 2009, a 3.5 percent increase on the amount in 2008, according to the report.

However, charity donation had not become a habit for citizens in China, Fan Baojun, president of the China Charity Federation, said on Tuesday in Beijing.

For example, charity donations from individuals in 2008 for the first time exceeded those from businesses, as ordinary people played an active role in relief work for the May 12 Sichuan earthquake. But the commitment to charity decreased when people gradually recovered from the pain in 2009, he said.

"Charity should become a habit for common people in their daily life rather than for business people or the rich," he said.

He also said transparency in the charity sector should be realized through social supervision.

"Many people who donate money to government admit they have no idea how or where the money is being spent," he said.

"But some charity programs under non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provide more transparent feedback, and they should play a more important role in providing relevant services," he said.

"The human resources in civil affairs departments are limited, so governments should buy services from NGOs," he said.

Under the current rules, NGOs have to be affiliated with a government department before they can register with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

"Some local governments have introduced rules to oversee charity donations and increase supervision," Zheng Yuanchang, a senior official of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said on Tuesday.