New media have built a bridge between the Foreign Ministry and the public, making China's diplomacy more down-to-earth, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday.[Special coverage]
The ministry will launch a WeChat version of the 12308 consular protection hotline in two weeks to provide online, real-time help for the public, Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress.
With about 650 million users, mostly in China, WeChat is one of the most popular social-networking platforms in the country for users to send messages, read news and pay bills.
"The ministry never shies away from new things," Wang said, adding that the ministry's leading new media platform has more than 12 million followers, and that more than 130 other accounts are being operated by the ministry's various departments and overseas consulates.
Useful information on world affairs, consular protection and external cooperation has been delivered through these new media platforms, while advices and even complaints are collected almost real time, according to the minister.
