BRUSSELS — China has made historic progress in human rights, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi said in a speech in Brussels, Belgium on Dec 16.

Speaking at an event hosted by the European Policy Centre, a think tank, Wang said it is the people of a country that have the most say about the quality of human rights there.

The true value of the universality of human rights can only be realized when it is applied in the context of the specific needs of different countries, Wang said. Over the past seven decades since the founding of New China, the country has made historic progress in its human rights cause.

"We have lifted 850 million people out of poverty, contributing over 70 percent to global progress in poverty reduction, and attained Goal One in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ten years ahead of schedule," Wang said, stressing that next year, for the first time in history, China will eradicate absolute poverty throughout the country.

The Chinese foreign minister also said that China has provided jobs for 770 million of its people, met the basic needs of 250 million elderly people, 85 million people with disabilities and over 60 million urban and rural residents living on subsistence allowance, and built up the world's largest systems of education, social security, medical care, and democracy at the grassroot level.

In China, there are 850 million internet users and over 1 billion users of the new media, he said, adding every Chinese enjoys the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution.

According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, China tops the 2019 global rankings of the level of satisfaction with government performance, with over 86 percent of the Chinese surveyed expressing satisfaction, far above the global medium of 47 percent, Wang said.