HANGZHOU - Charities should build up their own professional teams and promote transparency in management, said Jet Li, famous Chinese kung fu star and founder of the One Foundation, on Saturday.

Li noted that there is insufficient legislation over the philanthropic sector in China.

"The lack of professionals and transparency has hampered the development of charities in China," he said during the 8th Netrepreneurs Conference in East China's Zhejiang Province.

"I almost died in the 2004 tsunami. I don't know when I will be close to death again, so I set up the foundation," Li said.

The One Foundation was founded in 2006 in Chinese mainland. It initially operated as a special program under the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), but the cooperation ended in January.

Since the cooperation with the RCSC ended, the One Foundation has become the first non-governmental foundation affiliated with a government-run organization to successfully transition into a public fund-raising organization.

The RCSC recently came under fire after a woman named Guo Meimei, who claims to be affiliated with the society, posted photos of her lavish lifestyle to her microblog.

People in online communities speculated that her extravagant purchases may have been funded by money embezzled from the RCSC, showing public demand for information disclosure by charities.