China's State Council stressed the importance of flood prevention and drought relief work at an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang on Friday.

The need to put the people and their lives first, enhance preparedness for flood prevention and drought relief work, and take effective measures to defuse hidden dangers in key and vulnerable areas were highlighted at the meeting.

Efforts should also be made to distribute water resources for drought relief and ensure water security in urban and rural areas, especially for grain production, it was noted.

A guideline on advancing the transformation of villages in super-large and mega cities and a draft regulation on social insurance management were deliberated and adopted.

In super-large and mega cities, the steady promotion of the renovation of these villages is a significant move to improve people's livelihoods, expand domestic demand and promote high-quality urban development, it was noted.

The scientific formulation of plans to renovate and integrate the renovation of villages in cities with the construction of government-subsidized housing was called for, and the ramping up of policy support for renovation work was urged.

Innovation in the pattern of renovation, encouragement for private capital's participation and the development of new business formats to achieve sustainable operations were also encouraged.

It was also noted that legislation on social insurance management is conducive to standardizing services, optimizing service management, and protecting the social security rights and interests of the masses in an improved manner.

The supervision and institutional development of social insurance funds should be enhanced, it was noted, and all types of violations of laws and regulations should be punished in accordance with the law to ensure the safe operations of funds.

(Cover: Rescuers transfer flood-trapped residents in Wanzhou District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, July 4, 2023. /Xinhua)