Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers a speech at the Symposium on the International Situation and China's Foreign Relations in 2020, Beijing, China, December 11, 2020. / China's Foreign Ministry

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed China's opposition to "virus politicization" as he summarized the country's diplomatic performance during the year in a speech at the Symposium on the International Situation and China's Foreign Relations in 2020.

China explicitly opposes politicizing the coronavirus pandemic and labeling of the virus to prohibit the spread of any "political virus" rampaging across the world, the foreign minister said on Friday. He characterized China's performance in the global fight against COVID-19 as being guided by the "people-centered philosophy" of a "responsible" major country.

Dedication to serving the Chinese people is the abiding mission of China's diplomacy, Wang said, noting that the country had taken active measures to ensure the safety and health of overseas Chinese nationals, like providing consular protection for them.

"Overseas Chinese nationals have always been close to the heart of the motherland since the COVID-19 outbreak," he said.

The consular protection hotline "12308" has been in 24-hour service to keep channels open for Chinese citizens abroad. At the beginning of the epidemic, China sent chartered planes to take back Chinese citizens stranded overseas. After the serious outbreak of the pandemic overseas, the government also arranged flights to bring back compatriots in various regions in an orderly manner.

On the other hand, China has taken concrete actions to practice the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind by actively participating in global cooperation against the virus, Wang added.

Meanwhile, in facing the pandemic crisis, China's diplomacy has adhered to win-win and open cooperation to inject confidence into the global economic recovery, he said, adding that the country also made efforts toward the reform of the global governance system and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

The Symposium on the International Situation and China's Foreign Relations in 2020, Beijing, China, December 11, 2020. / China's Foreign Ministry

Looking ahead to 2021, Wang said that China will keep on promoting diplomacy with Chinese characteristics in the new era as the country embarks on a new journey toward socialist modernization.

"China's diplomacy will keep facilitating domestic development strategies, boosting the global economic recovery, promoting the building of a new type of international relations, and deepening regional and international cooperation, as well as participating into the process of global governance system reform and building the community with a shared future for mankind," he said.