Chinese people evacuated from Sudan by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's comprehensive supply ship Weishanhu arrive at the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah on April 29, 2023. Photo:Xinhua

Putting the people at the center and putting the safety of the overseas Chinese first is the most distinctive feature of China's consular work, a consular affairs diplomat said on Wednesday, weeks after China successfully evacuated more than 1,500 Chinese nationals from Sudan as the deadly military conflict within the African country sparked in mid-April.

At a press briefing in Beijing. Wu Xi, director-general of the Department of Consular Affairs of China's Foreign Ministry, who has extensive experience in consular affairs, shared some details about the great evacuation in Sudan, and introduced responsibilities and development stages of China's consular work since 1949, as well as the efforts made to promote China-foreign exchanges and protect the safety of Chinese citizens overseas.

According to Wu, in recent years, China has focused on improving its consular protection capabilities and building a system of "safe Chinese overseas."

Wu Xi, director-general of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Foreign Ministry (right), speaks at a press briefing in Beijing on June 21. Photo: Wang Qi/GT

In the decade after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the diplomatic front organized 20 operations to evacuate overseas Chinese citizens, handled more than 500,000 consular protection cases involving millions of Chinese people. Since China's consular protection hotline 12308 started to operate in 2014, more than 3 million calls have been handled, Wu told the media.

We have firmly safeguarded the personal safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens overseas, she noted.

Wu told media that the evacuation operation in Sudan was conducted in several stages. In the early days of the military conflict, the policy of "in-situ protection" was formulated. The Chinese embassy tried to contact the local Chinese doctor to give online guideline and treatment for Chinese citizens.

Children evacuated from Sudan by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's comprehensive supply ship Weishanhu arrive at the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah on April 29, 2023. Photo:Xinhua

After the evacuation window opened, the diplomats overcame difficulties, negotiating with various militants along the way to ensure the safety of the convoy. While the consular protection center in Beijing worked through the night, it contacted the field personnel in Sudan every half hour to track the evacuation situation, and finally all the 1,508 Chinese people were successfully evacuated.

Putting the people at the center and putting the safety of the overseas Chinese first is the most distinctive feature of China's consular work, Wu told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"We have been monitoring overseas risks, classifying various risks in different countries and regions, and reporting the assessment results in real time… For signs of risks, we will immediately issue alerts to Chinese citizens overseas through our diplomatic missions abroad," Wu added.

"The CPC Central Committee is very concerned about the safety of overseas Chinese citizens… Whether it is distributing medicines and epidemic prevention materials to overseas Chinese, or helping them evacuate safely in the midst of war and danger, this fully demonstrates the philosophy and spirit of our consular work," Wu said.

In addition, under the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, we have also been actively building consular relations with other countries and will, when possible, aid citizens of other countries if necessary, Wu added.

Pakistani people evacuated from Sudan by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's comprehensive supply ship Weishanhu arrive at the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah on April 29, 2023. Photo:Xinhua

During the evacuation, China also helped 231 citizens from eight countries safely evacuate, which gave Wu a personal experience of the spirit of a community with a shared future for mankind.

"A little Pakistani girl offered to share her candy she saved with my colleagues, which was really touching," Wu said.

Analysts believe that Chinese diplomats are promoters of people-to-people exchanges between China and foreign countries, and also guardians of the safety of overseas citizens, which is in sharp contrast to some countries.

About a week after the military conflict broke out in Sudan, US State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said, "It is imperative that US citizens in Sudan make their own arrangements to stay safe in these difficult circumstances," CNN reported.