Thirty years ago, delegates at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, Austria, overcame differences and adopted the landmark Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. While affirming the equality of all human rights, the document reiterates the right to development is an inalienable right and stronger international cooperation is a must.

The Forum on Global Human Rights Governance was held in Beijing on June 14-15 with the theme Equality, Cooperation and Development: the 30th Anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and Global Human Rights Governance. In a congratulatory letter to the forum, President Xi Jinping said China is ready to work with the rest of the world to act on the principles enshrined in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, push for greater equity, justice, reason and inclusiveness in global human rights governance, promote the development of a community with a shared future for humanity and jointly build a better world.

Currently global human rights governance is facing severe challenges. A few countries use human rights as an excuse to interfere in the domestic affairs of others, going so far as to weaponize them to curb other nations' development. China regards the rights to subsistence and development as the primary and basic human rights, and believes that living a life of contentment is the ultimate human right. It is also committed to advancing human rights in an all-round way, from economic, social, cultural and environmental rights to civil and political rights.

As the largest developing country in the world, China has been a supporter and promoter of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. It advocates safeguarding human rights through security, promoting them through development and advancing them through cooperation.

China has taken an active part in global human rights governance as it works together with a wide variety of parties. Notably, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Development Initiative and the Global Civilizations Initiative, proposed by China with the core message that countries are interdependent, humanity has a shared future, and the international community must unite for collaboration, all have major implications for the protection and advancement of human rights.