BEIJING — Chinese authorities have pledged improved career services for university graduates, amid efforts to bolster employment.

Vice-premiers Sun Chunlan and Hu Chunhua, who are both members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks on May 16 at a teleconference on employment of university graduates.

The meeting urged public career service providers to play an exemplary role in boosting employment, deciding that more vocational trainings and internships would be offered to university graduates.

While vowing support for flexible employment and entrepreneurship, the meeting called for efforts to maintain the orderly operation of the job market and safeguard job seekers' legitimate rights and interests.

The authorities will encourage companies to expand recruitment by providing social security subsidies, startup loans and tax and fee cuts, and will implement favorable policies for graduates seeking grassroots jobs, according to the meeting.

It also called for targeted assistance to university graduates from low-income families or areas hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic.