China's Contribution to the Global Human Rights

As the world's second-largest economy, the world's largest developing country, an ancient civilization with enduring historical and cultural traditions, and a socialist country led by a communist party, China is set to achieve yet further historic success in the sphere of human rights in the new era. This success will hold important significance for the global cause of human rights and the progress of humanity.

Contributing positivity

China accounts for about one-fifth of the world's entire population, so the continuous improvement in the protection of human rights in China itself represents a significant contribution to human progress. China has brought about a historic resolution to absolute poverty, achieved a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and fulfilled its poverty reduction targets of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule. These achievements have contributed significantly to advancing the global cause of poverty reduction and common development worldwide. In addition to benefiting citizens at home, China's development and progress in the new era have been beneficial for the world in general and done much to boost the overall wellbeing of humanity. China will continue to pursue development through cooperation and protect human rights through development, with the aim of promoting the common development of all countries and universal prosperity for humankind. With respect to promoting common development and ensuring people's wellbeing, China is increasingly becoming a critical anchor of stability and source of momentum for the world economy. Based on the average annual exchange rate in 2021, China's economy accounted for over 18% of the world total and contributed about 25% of global economic growth. According to a report by the World Bank, the Belt and Road Initiative could help 7.6 million people in participating countries escape extreme poverty and lift a further 32 million people out of moderate poverty. China has established agencies like the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund and the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development as part of a proactive push to develop practical cooperation. Under the South-South cooperation framework, China has also lent as much assistance as possible to other developing countries. To help build a global community of health for all amid the formidable spread of Covid-19, China has implemented the most extensive global humanitarian program since the founding of the PRC in 1949 and has chosen to make Chinese-produced vaccines available as a global public good, with priority given to the needs of developing countries. This represents China's contribution to the worldwide fight against Covid-19. By the end of March 2022, China had supplied 2.2 billion vaccine doses to more than 120 countries and international organizations, making it the world's largest national provider of Covid-19 vaccines. In addition, it has also provided a vast quantity of protective materials to the international community. To promote a community of life for man and Nature, China has worked alongside the international community to implement its national strategy for actively responding to climate change and pushed forward various climate change adaption and mitigation initiatives. It has also taken accelerated steps to shift to a green and low-carbon development model, along with determined action to implement the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. In 2020, the volume of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP had dropped by about 48.4% from 2005, helping China surpass the relevant target concerning its commitment to the international community on responding to climate change.

Contributing Chinese wisdom

Human rights are an important achievement and hallmark of human civilization. Many important ideas from Chinese culture, such as benevolence and amity, putting people first, harmony and coexistence, unity between nature and man, a moderately prosperous society, and a world of great harmony, are also important intellectual achievements of humanity. In the new era, we have applied the Marxist outlook on human rights to China's specific realities and integrated it with the best of traditional Chinese culture, applied the universality of human rights in the Chinese context, and put forward a range of original human rights concepts that have Chinese characteristics, style, and vision, as well as contemporary features, and thus opened a human rights development path that moves with the times and fits with Chinese conditions. China's people-centered human rights philosophy draws on the outstanding achievements of human civilization and the principle of universal human rights while also being fundamentally distinct from the human rights outlook of Western capitalism. The philosophy transcends the narrow-mindedness and limitations of the Western perspective, replacing the concept of "natural rights" with people's rights, and absolute and abstract rights with specific and practical rights. It thus realizes rights that are more genuine and comprehensive, and that truly protect the immediate interests of the greatest majority of people. China's socialist approach to human rights in the new era upholds the leadership of the CPC and the socialist system in respecting and protecting human rights. It respects the people's principal position, protects and promotes human rights through development, strikes an even balance between collective and individual rights, and champions mutual learning and common development between civilizations. This approach has worked for the Chinese people in practice, greatly enriched humanity's means for developing human rights, and opened new horizons for the cause of human rights of the world.