China released a new national human rights action plan at the opening of the 2026 Forum on Global Human Rights Governance in Beijing on Thursday.
The plan aims to ensure the principal position of the people is respected and the people's fundamental interests are safeguarded.
The fundamental principles of the plan include safeguarding human life, values and dignity; advancing the cause of human rights in a lawful, equal, pragmatic, coordinated and concerted manner; and promoting the well-rounded development of individuals and the all-round progress of society.
Over the next five years, China will respect the principal position of the people, safeguard their fundamental interests, promote social fairness and justice, and ensure that the gains of modernization benefit all people in a more adequate and fair manner.
China aims to continue safeguarding human rights by advancing the following priorities.
First, it vows to comprehensively advance the protection of people's economic, social and cultural rights through high-quality development.
China will further implement the employment-first strategy and accelerate the protection of workers' rights and interests.
On the health front, efforts will also be made to raise the average life expectancy in China to 80 years, while reducing the neonatal mortality rate to three per thousand.
In terms of education, the country will promote the balanced development of compulsory education in a coordinated manner. It will ensure that the state financial expenditure on education reaches above 4 percent in the GDP.
Second, China will also strive to improve the mechanisms for protecting civil and political rights. Ensuring the right to life, the protection of personal information, and the freedom of religious beliefs are among the top priorities.
Third, China will strengthen the protection of environmental rights. It will implement the Ecological and Environmental Code, which was passed by the national legislature in March, and build a digital governance system for Beautiful China -- a vision that advocates harmony between humanity and nature. That includes achieving carbon peak before 2030.
The action plan says China will equally safeguard the rights and interests of all groups, including ethnic minorities, women, children, the elderly and the disabled.
The country will also guide the sound development of emerging human rights fields, and continuously raise awareness of human rights by enhancing and promoting the education, research, training and publicity of human rights.
The plan says China will actively advance global human rights governance. To achieve that, China will promote the improvement of global human rights governance, conduct effective international human rights dialog and cooperation, actively participate in human rights affairs at the United Nations, and advance the work of human rights treaty fulfillment reviews.
China will also implement relevant plans about human rights and make sure the entities concerned fulfill their responsibilities.
China releases new national human rights action plan
