BEIJING - Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) will have to hand over more of their profits to the government as their business conditions improve in the future, a senior official of China's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) said on Tuesday.

Shao Ning, vice-chairman of the SASAC, told a news conference that the SOEs' future profit payment ratio would be raised to a "reasonable level".

Chinese SOEs delivered more than 60 billion yuan ($9.12 billion) to the government last year, compared with 31.5 billion yuan ($4.8 billion) in 2009, Shao said.

Shao added that the centrally-administered SOEs reported total profits of 1.1315 trillion yuan ($172 billion) last year, among which 562.1 billion yuan ($85.5 billion) were attributable to parent companies controlled by the government.

He also said that the assets of SOEs were deposits belonging to the nation and its people and the government can rely on these assets for spending on social service spending, if necessary.

"In recent years, our country has posted a sound growth of financial revenue, but we can't sustain such a strong growth forever," Shao said, adding: "As China faces up to an aging population, I believe the assets of SOEs can play a significant role in dealing with the problem, if necessary."