Eighty-eight counties in China still do not have volunteers to provide professional legal aid services, according to the minister of justice on Thursday.

Most of the counties are in remote, impoverished areas or have large populations of ethnic groups, Minister Wu Aiying told central and provincial judicial officials at a conference marking the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the Legal Aid Regulation.

However, authorities will attach greater importance to less developed places where legal aid services are in need, she pledged.