On 7 March 2022, a press conference was held on the margins of the fifth Session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, during which Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi answered the question about what measures the MFA will take this year to serve the people.

Wang noted that the past year has been tough for the many Chinese nationals abroad. The COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, political turbulence and armed conflicts posed constant threats to the safety of Chinese nationals abroad and, for that matter, caused great concern to the people in the motherland. If Chinese nationals abroad cannot come home for the time being, we bring the warmth of home to them, he said.

He introduced that in the course of last year, the MFA and China’s diplomatic and consular missions abroad did their level best to carry out a Spring Sprout program around the world to vaccinate millions of Chinese nationals living and working in 180 countries. With the 12308 hotline open 24/7, China’s diplomatic service handled more than 500,000 calls for help and over 60,000 cases of consular protection and assistance, and rescued several dozen Chinese from their abductors, all part of an all-out effort to protect the life, safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese compatriots abroad. On the eve of China’s National Day last year, the unremitting efforts finally paid off and Ms. Meng Wanzhou, who had spent over 1,000 days in illegal detention, was safely back to home. Her remark that “if conviction has a color, it must be red — the color of China” struck a deep chord with her 1.4 billion fellow Chinese.

The minister noted that serving the people and addressing their concerns is a bounden duty of China’s diplomatic service. Going forward, it will continue to put people first and act as a ready provider of good service to the people and a defender of the interests of Chinese compatriots overseas. According to him, the MFA will focus its efforts on the following three areas this year:

First, the MFA will develop a platform for smart consular services, and provide more services that can be easily accessed through mobile devices, to improve digital, 24/7 consular services.

Second, the MFA will build a system for the protection of Chinese nationals and interests overseas, enhance alert of safety risks and offer security and self-protection guidance for Chinese businesses, to provide more effective and timely safety and security support to fellow Chinese abroad.

Third, the MFA will roll out a plan to facilitate safe, unimpeded travel by upgrading “fast lanes” for cross-border travel and health certificates for international travelers, so as to facilitate safe, healthy and convenient international travel.