Chinese premier chairs meeting on river and lake protection, child welfare

BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sunday presided over a State Council executive meeting, which made arrangements for river and lake protection and studied measures to further protect the welfare of children in difficulties.

The meeting also discussed the draft healthcare security law and decided to approve nuclear power projects including one in Sanmen of East China's Zhejiang province.

Noting that China's aquatic ecosystems have been continuously improving, the meeting called for adopting a targeted, scientific and law-based approach in pollution treatment, and urged coordinated efforts to improve water resources, aquatic environments, and aquatic ecosystems.

Forceful measures should be taken to address problems from the source, strengthen monitoring and source-tracing, and curb excess emissions, according to the meeting.

Highlighting the importance of welfare protection of children in difficulties, the meeting called for efforts to prioritize children's development and maximize benefits for children, and continuously improve the service systems for their living, medical, education, and mental health needs.

The meeting discussed and approved in principle the draft healthcare security law, and decided to submit it to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.

It also stressed absolute safety in nuclear power development. Efforts should be made to ensure that nuclear power units are built and operated in accordance with the highest global safety standards, and continuously enhance capacity building for safety supervision, the meeting said.