Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has stressed unswerving adherence to China's path of human rights development.

Xi made the remarks while presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Friday.

Xi called for more efforts to pay attention to, respect and safeguard human rights, and better advance the development of China's human rights causes as the country has embarked on a new journey to fully build a modern socialist China.

China's progress in human rights development

To respect and protect human rights is a persistent pursuit of the CPC, Xi stressed.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, the CPC has continued to make the respect for and protection of human rights an important agenda of national governance, and has prompted historic achievements in China's human rights cause, Xi said.

The problem of absolute poverty has been solved, whole-process people's democracy further developed, social equity and justice firmly safeguarded, and the world's largest education, social security and healthcare systems established, Xi said, highlighting some of the progress in human rights development.

China has effectively combated COVID-19 to protect the health and safety of the people to the greatest extent possible. China maintains that all ethnic groups are equal, respects people's religious beliefs, and safeguards the lawful rights and interests of people of all ethnic groups, Xi said.

China has ensured long-term social stability. It is the only major country in the world that has consecutively formulated and enforced four national human rights action plans. It also actively participates in global governance on human rights, Xi added.

In the practice of advancing the cause of human rights, China has blazed a path of human rights development that is consistent with the trend of the times and suits the nation's conditions, Xi stressed.

Xi noted six main features of China's development of human rights: upholding the Party's leadership, respecting the people's principal position, proceeding from national realities, upholding the rights to subsistence and development as the primary and basic human rights, safeguarding human rights in accordance with the law, and participating in global governance on human rights.

The features are also experience that should be further upheld and developed in the context of new practices, Xi said.

Promoting global human rights governance

Xi stressed the need to actively promote global human rights governance, pushing it toward a more fair, just, reasonable and inclusive direction.

He called for championing the common values of all mankind and upholding the principles of equality and mutual trust, inclusiveness and mutual learning, cooperation and mutual benefits, and common development.

"We should actively participate in the United Nations human rights affairs, and play a constructive role in international human rights exchanges and cooperation with other countries, especially with developing countries," Xi said.

Xi stressed that to evaluate whether a country has human rights, it cannot be judged by the standards of other countries, let alone engage in double standards, or even use human rights as a political tool to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: A park in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, February 23, 2022. /CFP)