The new document, an update of a version released in 2014, also calls for nongovernmental efforts in conjunction with governments' work to protect children.

The meeting also decided that a free, 12-year education through high school will be provided to children with disabilities from poor families. The country now offers a free, nine-year compulsory education, for elementary and middle school, for all children.

According to the Children's Welfare Institute at Beijing Normal University, the nation has at least 570,000 vulnerable children, 91 percent of whom are without parental custody because their mother left them to remarry after their father died.

Since 2013, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has carried out a pilot program in 50 counties and county-level cities, such as Kunshan in Jiangsu province, with the aim of establishing a universal welfare system for children.

"The measures indicated China has made progress in children's care, as the welfare has expanded from basic needs of food and accommodations to educational services, which may help these children in looking for a job when they grow up," said Tao Chuanjin, a researcher at the China Philanthropy Research Institute.

The meeting also decided to improve the process by which governments buy services from social organizations to provide these children with such care as psychological counseling.

How to improve services is the key, because of a lack of professionals and specialized institutes offering assistance, said Guan Xinping, a professor of child research at Nankai University.

Contact the writer at huyongqi@chinadaily.com.cn