The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Internet conglomerate Tencent announced a new jointly developed feature on WeChat at a press conference held at MFA Office on Wednesday. The app will allow Chinese travelers abroad to have access to overseas consul services in case of emergency.

This action is a follow up to Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s announcement at the National People’s Congress earlier this month that "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will launch a WeChat version of 12308. In the future, apart from dialing the consular hot-line, people who run into difficulty in another country can seek real-time advice and receive immediate help from the WeChat platform."

The MFA's Global Emergency Call Center for Consular Protection and Services was established back in 2014. Wang said it is a "kinship hotline" connecting the government and its people abroad. With this WeChat feature, China's consular protection and services can extend to wherever Chinese compatriots go. 

As of the last quarter of 2016, WeChat reportedly had 846 million monthly active users, easily making it one of the most widely used social media apps across China, and even the world.

The MFA says it hopes to utilize the latest and most innovative technology and fully embrace this Internet era. This new app will incorporate GPS technology and send out customized location-based information, for example.