People taste grapes at a grape fair in Turpan, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Aug. 17, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has made significant progress in pursuing sustainable development and human rights protection in recent years, experts said at a side event during the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.

The event, titled "The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Human Rights Protection," was co-hosted by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the China Foundation for Human Rights Development.

Sun Meng, a professor at the Human Rights Institute of China University of Political Science and Law, emphasized China's commitment to a path that integrates sustainable development with human rights protection.

She added that China has always adhered to the development concept of innovation, coordination, greenness, openness and sharing, as well as the people-oriented development principle, and fully implemented the idea of human rights protection.

Zhou Shaoqing, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated that one of the reasons behind the rise of ideologies and movements that severely impact social cohesion and even political stability worldwide is the extreme disparity in wealth and the high inequality of economic and social rights.

He emphasized that China addresses this issue through relevant policies and legislation to ensure economic and social equality, with a particular focus on promoting equal development for ethnic minority regions and remote regions. China's systematic policy framework, development priorities, and the goal of "common prosperity" provide valuable references for addressing global governance inequality, he added.

Tang Yingxia, deputy director of Nankai University's Human Rights Center, stated that human rights, climate change, and sustainable development are closely interconnected, and this intrinsic link calls for active measures at the national level.

She highlighted that China is addressing climate change by proposing and implementing its dual carbon goals to protect environmental rights. Furthermore, China has adopted relevant measures at various levels and achieved remarkable success in the development of a low-carbon economy.

Da Lu, an associate professor from China's Southwest University of Political Science and Law, noted that there are still many challenges ahead in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He called on the international community to adhere to the principles of consultation, joint construction and sharing, promote the building of a more just and reasonable international order, and inject more positive impetus into global development.