BEIJING - Chinese State Councilor Ma Kai has called on local governments to handle petitions and visits with more care and an innovative management system.

Ma made the remarks on Thursday at a meeting attended by heads of local bureaus for letters and calls. Petitioning, known as letters and calls, is an administrative system designed to hear complaints and grievances from the public.

While praising local officials' work in this field over the past five years, Ma stressed that officials should treat every petitioner and visitor as their own family and go every length to solve their problems.

Ma urged these bureaus to be innovative in their management system and regulate officials' behavior during the reception of visitors, calling on them to solve "issues and factors that hinder the scientific development of the country's work on petitions and visits".