BEIJING — A guideline has been released on enhancing labor-intensive enterprises' care for left-behind children and children living in difficulties in rural areas in China.

Jointly issued by six authorities including the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the guideline asks such enterprises to further educate rural workers on their responsibilities as guardians of their children, via methods such as holding courses at factories, construction sites and dormitories to guide the workers in fulfilling their duties as guardians.

The enterprises should keep improving the working and living conditions of rural workers to provide stronger support for their fulfillment of family duties, according to the guideline.

For instance, they can coordinate with authorities to offer convenience in buying train tickets on holidays for the workers, or take their children to visit them at work to create more chances for both workers and their children to spend time together.

The guideline asks the enterprises to establish a long-term support mechanism to normalize, institutionalize and regulate the support to the families of workers with children left behind in rural areas.

It also highlights the combination of the work with the country's poverty relief and the rural vitalization strategy, calling for more attention to the living conditions of children left behind in areas with abject poverty.