As the world marks Human Rights Day this year, China's outlook on human rights and its tangible progress achieved through practical efforts resonate deeply with the 2025 theme: "Human Rights, Our Everyday Essentials."

China's human rights discourse highlights the innovative principle that the rights to subsistence and development are the most fundamental human rights. This reflects a long-standing, people-centered philosophy deeply rooted in the nation's history and culture.

The Chinese approach underscores a contextual understanding of human rights, in which the specific needs and realities of each nation are taken into account.

Poverty used to be the biggest obstacle in China's human rights cause. Since reform and opening up began in 1978, the country has lifted 770 million rural people out of poverty, including almost 100 million from 2012 to 2020 through targeted programs. China became the world's second-largest economy in 2010 and declared the historic eradication of absolute poverty in 2021. With the establishment of a moderately prosperous society, 1.4 billion Chinese now enjoy greater happiness, security, fulfillment, and dignity -- with no individual or ethnic group left behind.

China continues working to improve people's well-being through development, promoting progress in political, economic, social, and cultural rights in a coordinated way. China has built the world's largest education, social security, and healthcare systems. Its citizens have broader access to jobs, schooling, medical services, and an improved standard of living.

As the largest developing country, China also promotes global human rights advancement through initiatives aimed at shared development. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, many partner countries have upgraded their infrastructure and strengthened local industries, bringing tangible improvements to people's lives.

Economic development plays a foundational role in promoting human rights. Just as Wang Yiwei, a professor at Renmin University of China, has observed, in the era of digital intelligence, it would be a luxury to talk about human rights for hundreds of millions of people in some regions who still have no access to power or the internet.

China has developed its whole-process people's democracy. Through a set of systems, including the people's congress system, the country aims to ensure broader and more comprehensive democratic rights. Public opinions are extensively sought during policymaking. During the drafting of the recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan, a month-long online consultation collected more than 3.11 million submissions and yielded over 1,500 suggestions across 27 topics. Many of these ideas were incorporated into the recommendations.

By applying the principle of the universality of human rights in the context of its national conditions, China has charted a new path and enriched global human rights theory through its practices. Its achievements are also reflected in equality and unity among ethnic groups and in the coexistence of multiple religions.

China maintains that living a happy life is the primary human right and seeks to promote the well-rounded development of individuals. The process of realizing the Chinese Dream -- the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation -- is, in essence, a pursuit of social fairness, justice, and continual human rights advancement.

There is no end to the development of human rights. As China advances socialist modernization and deepens reforms across various fields, further improvements are anticipated.

Meeting people's aspirations for a better life is the immutable goal of Chinese modernization. Over the next five years, China aims to achieve new breakthroughs in further deepening reform comprehensively, make substantial progress under the Beautiful China Initiative, and further improve the quality of life, among its major objectives. Reaching these targets will lead to continued gains in human rights and a stronger sense of dignity, freedom, and happiness.

There is no universally applicable model for human rights development. Countries must choose their paths based on their own realities. Global progress requires dialogue and mutual learning rather than double standards or the politicization and instrumentalization of human rights. The China-proposed Global Civilization Initiative seeks to promote inclusiveness, respect for civilizational diversity, and exchanges.

As the world confronts persistent challenges of inequality, poverty, and development, China's approach offers a valuable perspective for nations seeking to safeguard basic human rights while pursuing their own paths to prosperity and progress.