The 14th National People's Congress held its third session press conference, where Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs, answered questions from Chinese and foreign journalists regarding "China's foreign policy and external relations".
China News Service reporter: Hello, Minister. Last year, China safely evacuated over 10,000 compatriots from abroad. Recently, cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud have attracted significant public attention, and some believe that this could affect the personnel exchanges between China and the related countries. As more Chinese citizens travel abroad, how will the Ministry of Foreign Affairs better protect the legitimate rights and interests of overseas Chinese citizens? Thank you.
Wang Yi: The CPC Central Committee is highly concerned about compatriots abroad, and their well-being and safety are always our concern. In 2024, we safely evacuated over 10,000 Chinese citizens from high-risk areas such as Lebanon and Haiti, handled over 50,000 consular cases, answered over 500,000 calls on the 12308 consular protection hotline, and issued over 5,000 overseas safety alerts. Our goal is to make the homeland feel close even when you are at the far ends of the earth.
Online gambling and telecom fraud are major concerns for the public and are also critical issues that we are firmly addressing. For some time, under the joint concern of the leaders of China and neighboring countries, law enforcement and diplomatic departments have worked together effectively to carry out cross-border cooperation and fully rescue stranded Chinese citizens.
The telecom fraud hubs in Northern Myanmar near the border have been completely cleared, and China, Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos are jointly focusing on cracking down on telecom fraud in the Thai-Myanmar border area. Our task is to cut off the dark hands reaching out to the people and eradicate the cancer of online telecom fraud.
In 2025, we will focus on building a "three ones" safe overseas China system: one is to create an international cooperation platform for overseas security, deepen security cooperation especially with countries along the "Belt and Road" and the Lancang-Mekong countries, and extend a helping hand "friendship circle". Second, make good use of an overseas consular assistance hotline, providing round-the-clock, zero-time-difference consultation and assistance. Third, perfect a set of risk warning and emergency response mechanisms, providing more efficient consular protection for compatriots abroad and giving the public peace of mind. Thank you!
