Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu noted at the opening ceremony of the 2021 south-south Human Rights Forum on December 8:

“The outbreak of COVID-19 teaches us again that the rights to subsistence and development are the primary human rights. We should always put our people and their lives first, give top priority to the safety and health of each person, and defend the value and dignity of every human life. We should join hands to battle the pandemic, work for higher-quality, more efficient, equitable, sustainable, and secure development, ensure and enhance people’s wellbeing and promote and protect human rights in the course of development.”