He said child begging was also related to various factors such as parental divorce, pressure in schools and human traffickers.

"The final solution should be based on strengthening social security and social assistance from local governments, and protecting children from irresponsible parents," he said.

The ministry has warned local governments in some regions where many homeless children come from, he said.

"During the next five years, we plan to build more county-level assistance centers in the regions with large numbers of homeless children, and provide psychological counseling, cultural education and skill cultivation in about 310 assistance centers that have been built in the last five years," he said.

The ministry has posted some assistance signs in public places for homeless children and provided medical treatment for those who are sick, he said.

"We also encourage citizens and professional non-government organizations to participate," he said.

However, he pointed out that under the law the ministry could only care for homeless children who voluntarily accept help.

"More than half of the homeless children on the streets have records for petty crime, and the ministry cannot force them to go to assistance centers when they refuse to do so," he said.