China's Foreign Minister meets UN Human Rights chief in Guangzhou

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China's Foreign Minister meets UN Human Rights chief in Guangzhou

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets the visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on May 23, 2022. PHOTO XINHUA State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with the visiting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in Guangzhou on Monday, as Bachelet kicked off a six-day official visit to China, which will include Xinjiang.

It has been 17 years since China received a UN human rights chief, and Wang hopes that this trip will improve understanding and cooperation, and clarify any misinformation.

Wang said that the international cause of human rights must refrain from politics, reject double standards, take into account national conditions, and oppose bloc confrontations.

Major countries should take the lead in practicing multilateralism, upholding the UN Charter, respecting international law and defending international fairness and justice, he said.

Wang said multilateral human rights institutions should serve as a major venue for cooperation and dialogue rather than as a new battlefield for division and confrontation.

He said that China is ready to cooperate with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the basis of mutual respect and equal treatment.

During the meeting, Wang spoke about China's history of development and the governing philosophy of the Communist Party of China in connection with China's 5,000-year history.

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He stated that the CPC stays committed to taking a people-centered approach and has made it its abiding goal to create a better life for the people.

By combining advanced Marxist theory with China's practice, the CPC has led the Chinese people in blazing a path of socialism with Chinese characteristics consistent with the trend of times, suiting China's national conditions, making historic achievements in reform and opening up, and winning the support of the people, Wang said.

Wang said that China always gave priority to ensuring the right to subsistence, put a priority on the right to development and made the protection of citizens' legitimate rights and interests its basic task.

China has made safeguarding ethnic groups' rights an important part of its work, and protecting people's safety a long-term goal, he said.

As a champion of the universal values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom, China has been promoting a shared future for humanity, and has been involved in solving the major issues facing the human society, and promoting the development of human rights in the world.

According to a press release on the Foreign Ministry's website, Bachelet praised China on its important achievements in economic and social development and human rights protection and spoke positively of China's contributions to multilateralism, development financing, poverty reduction, climate change, ecological conservation and other areas relating to the development of human rights.

Bachelet expressed the hope that this visit will be an opportunity to improve mutual understanding and trust between the two sides to deal with global challenges and advance the international human rights cause because of the great importance that the OHCHR attaches to China's role.

The two sides exchanged views on the international and regional humanitarian situations of mutual concern.