On January 9, 2024, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the Symposium on the International Situation and China's Foreign Relations in 2023, "China's diplomacy is the people's diplomacy. Serving the people is the original aspiration and mission that we bear in mind all the time. Over the past year, after the transition in China's COVID-19 response measures, more Chinese people have traveled abroad. Our consular protection and services have been adapting to this development. In 2023, we started implementing the Regulations on Consular Protection and Assistance, made available the 'China Consular Affairs' mini program, and handled over 530,000 calls for assistance and over 80,000 cases through the consular protection hotline 12308, providing round-the-clock services to overseas compatriots in all time zones. We evacuated thousands of compatriots from war-torn regions around the globe. The long journey back home once again shows that no matter where they are, our compatriots know that the motherland always has their back and the Chinese diplomatic missions are their home in distant lands."

Wang Yi said, "Over the past year, the foreign service has kept in mind that China is still the biggest developing country and that realizing more adequate and balanced development remains the most pressing aspiration of the people. We acted in conformity with the central tasks of the Party and the country, committed ourselves to creating favorable conditions for domestic development, built bridges for international cooperation and worked relentlessly for people's wellbeing."