SHIJIAZHUANG, April 19 -- Chinese State Councilor Shen Yiqin has called for meal services to be developed as a part of elderly care initiatives, and for continued assistance to be provided to victims of natural disasters.

Shen made the remarks during a recent research tour in north China's Hebei Province. Civil affairs and post-disaster relief were the issues on her agenda.

Shen visited Shijiazhuang City and Zhuozhou City between Wednesday and Friday, touring rural areas, urban communities and enterprises, and convening meetings to hear workers' opinions on the development of meal services.

She called for further progress in the construction of the elderly care network in rural and urban communities, highlighting the importance of providing flexible, diverse meal services for the elderly population.

These services should be developed in a proactive, stable and prudent manner, and tailored to the reality of various localities, according to the state councilor.

During her trip, Shen also stressed the need to link emergency disaster relief policies with routine assistance policies, strengthen the disaster prevention and response capabilities of elderly care institutions, and provide even better services for those living in difficulty.