White Paper: Improvements in Environment and Foreign Cooperations

“Foreign Exchanges and Cooperation”

"In 2014 China continued to take the initiative in exchanges and cooperation with other countries in the realm of human rights. It played a constructive role in the UN's human rights bodies, and endeavored to promote the sound development of human rights on the international stage."

The white paper reported China's many actions of the last year in expanding exchange and involvement with other countries on the topic of human rights. In the many formal, international meetings and forums on human rights, "China actively introduced its principles, policies and achievements in the human rights field, joined in the discussions of various topics, brought all member states' attention to the reasonable assertions of developing countries, and urged the UN's human rights mechanisms to deal with all human rights issues in a just and objective manner." Furthermore, "the Chinese government actively participated in the intergovernmental process of the UN General Assembly on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system, and played a constructive role therein."

In tackling real and pertinent human rights issues, various countries raised a number of recommendations during review, to which "China accepted 204 recommendations, or 81 percent …which received worldwide praise." The paper also mentions the review of China made by the In UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in May. "The Chinese delegation", the paper states, "explained in a thorough manner their country's achievements in safeguarding its people's economic, social and cultural rights, and replied candidly to the questions raised by the Committee, with some Committee experts regarding it as an exemplary review." The paper further praised China's efforts in its cooperation with various UN human rights bodies.

The paper briefly shares several instances of China exchanging with other countries on human rights, including some with the EU, the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Laos and Sri Lanka. In addition to attending important function promoting human rights like the 14th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Informal Seminar on Human Rights, as elaborated on in the paper, China also is building a strong presence in its own development as "the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the China Foundation for Human Rights Development jointly held the seventh session of the Beijing Forum on Human Rights."

The white paper closed with, "Working closely with other countries, China will continue to spare no effort to promote the wholesome development of human rights worldwide."