By H. E. Wang Di, Chinese Ambassador to Canada

On July 1, 2026, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress (hereafter referred to as “Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law”) officially came into effect. The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law is China’s first specialized law dedicated to promoting ethnic unity and progress. It includes one preamble, seven chapters and 65 articles. Since the law was adopted, it has received high recognition and firm support from people of all ethnic groups across China. Many friends, media outlets and organizations from various countries have given positive comments on this law. They believe that this law suites China's national conditions, aligns with modern governance philosophy and the trends in national governance. I would like to take this opportunity to share more with the Canadian friends.

Formulating and implementing the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law serves as an effective path to advancing the common development and prosperity of all ethnic groups in China. Chinese modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all, leaving no ethnic group behind. As of 2020, all 420 poverty-stricken counties in China’s ethnic autonomous areas had been lifted out of poverty. In 2025, the total gross regional product of all five autonomous regions, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Xizang, Ningxia, and Xinjiang, has reached 8.66 trillion yuan (approximately 1.803 trillion Canadian dollars), representing an average annual growth rate of 5.5% compared to 2020. On this basis, the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law dedicates a specific chapter titled “Advancing Shared Prosperity and Common Development”, which comprises nine articles. The chapter makes further provisions on supporting ethnic minority areas in comprehensively deepening reform and opening up, fully integrating into the national development strategy, enhancing their capacity for self-development, accelerating the high-quality development of ethnic minority areas, and advancing shared prosperity for all ethnic groups. The chapter requires strengthening the development of transport, energy, water conservancy, information, and logistics infrastructure, and advancing connectivity between ethnic minority areas and other areas. The chapter also makes provisions on supporting ethnic minority areas in, based on their resource endowments and by making use of modern science and technology, developing agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, agri-food processing, textile industry, cultural tourism industry, and other distinctive and competitive industries such as traditional crafts and traditional medicine. The ecological and environmental protection and the sustainable utilization of natural resources in ethnic minority areas are also required in the chapter. The above provisions fully demonstrate the people-centered philosophy of development, aiming to continuously enhance the sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security of people of all ethnic groups by narrowing the development gap between ethnic areas and other regions.

Formulating and implementing the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law serves as an important guarantee for safeguarding the equal rights and interests of all ethnic groups in China. China has 55 ethnic minorities, 53 of which—totaling around 60 million people—have their own languages. To ensure that all ethnic minorities can learn and use their own languages, Article 15 of the law makes explicit provisions that the State respects and safeguards the learning and use of minority languages, and drives their standardization, normalization, and informatization. Article 29 stipulates that the State encourages all ethnic groups to learn one another's languages. These provisions speak volumes of China's commitment to learning and protecting the spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities.

Some distorts the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law as a “tool of assimilation”. Such remarks are fraught with ignorance and bias against China, and are nothing but an attempt to use ethnic issues to smear China's human rights situation, which we firmly oppose. The Chinese government always attaches great importance to protecting the cultures of ethnic minorities, and guarantees all ethnic groups' right to use and develop their own spoken and written languages in accordance with the law. More than 100 sovereign countries, Canada included, have designated common, official or national languages in their constitutions, which give national common languages a clear legal status. In the same spirit, the promotion of Putonghua, the national common language of China, is a constitutional responsibility, which helps advance the building of a community for the Chinese nation, and enables all ethnic groups to share the fruits of development.    　 

Formulating and implementing the Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law meets the realistic need for safeguarding national unity, security, and stability. Maintaining national unity, territorial integrity and social stability is a matter of sovereignty for all countries and a fundamental principle established by international law. All countries have the right to prevent separatist and subversive activities and maintain social solidarity and public order through domestic legislation. This is common international practice. All ethnic groups in China remain closely united like the seeds of a pomegranate. Ethnic unity is the lifeblood of people of all ethnic groups in China. The adoption of the law targets illegal acts undermining ethnic unity and progress and fostering ethnic separatism. Its fundamental purpose is to safeguard ethnic harmony, social stability and national security. Adopting the law is part of China's inherent legislative power as a sovereign country, and is in line with the spirit of international law and the common practices of all countries. It will not affect normal cultural exchanges, academic discussions, economic and trade cooperation and other activities between China and other countries.

China's promotion of ethnic unity and progress in accordance with the law not only benefits its own people, but also provides important reference for countries around the world to manage ethnic affairs. China and Canada share similar ideas in respecting and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of all ethnic groups and safeguarding multiculturalism. Both countries have unique and effective practices of promoting ethnic unity and common prosperity. China is willing to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning on ethnic policies and ethnic governance with all countries around the world, including Canada, to boost our respective development, jointly contribute to human civilization and progress, and build a community with a shared future for humanity.