The photo published on August 5, 2015 shows 12-year-old Dongdong (in the middle) and his little friends in a remote village in East China's Jiangxi Province. [Photo: Camel/CFP]

The State Council has released new guidelines for the protection of so-called left-behind children.

These are children whose parents work away from home.

While stressing the parents' primary responsibilities, the State Council also says local governments and village committees need to keep themselves well-informed about the children to ensure they are properly taken care of.

An onus is also being placed on education authorities and schools to ensure the children can study and live safely.

Local governments are also being allowed to contract charities and local volunteers to provide professional services for the children.

It's estimated around 60 million children are considered left-behind here in China.