China's Vice Foreign Minister in charge of China-U.S. relations, Xie Feng, held talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on July 26 in Tianjing, China.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Sherman, urging the US to drop arrogance and prejudice and steer back to a rational and pragmatic China policy.

“The United States have so many human rights problems, that they should stop their hypocrisy, arrogance and double standards.” Gert Grobler, Former South Africa's ambassador to Spain, Japan and Madagascar, comments in a recent interview with GDToday.

Grobler recalled: “When I worked in Japan and the USA, and the United Kingdom, I read things about China, which are simply not true.” After he got to China, he realized that there is incredibly strong bias and unfairness about China in the coverage of western media.

Therefore, he has been writing many articles about what he’s experienced in China. Grobler is now living in Jinhua, Zhejiang, he is the senior research fellow at the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University.

The U.S. should stop hypocrisy, arrogance and double standards

GDToday: You were an ambassador to developed countries such as Spain and Japan, and developing countries such as Madagascar. Did you feel the differences between these countries on the issue of human rights?

Gert Grobler: China is always ready to discuss human rights. I think what makes China different from other countries is the emphasis of “people come first”. Also, China cares about economic situation, education, the social economic rights. The political system China adopts is the CPC-led multiparty cooperation and political consultation system. The system, combined with the system of regional ethnic autonomy and the Constitution, has protected the interests of the people.

The 46th regular session of the Human Rights Council adopted China’s proposal, which is promoting mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of human rights. China calls on all countries to uphold multilateralism, and to continue constructive dialogue and cooperation. This was accepted and strongly supported by the international community.

It's always an issue of major concern to me that countries (like) the United States should stop using human rights as a pretext to attack other countries. They have so many human rights problems in their own countries, that they should stop their hypocrisy, arrogance and double standards.

China is a major contributor to global stability and prosperity

GDToday: Recently in the 47th regular session of the Human Rights Council, China's resolution on "The contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights" was passed, which emphasizes the right to development and that the aim of development is to improve the well-being of the people. What’s your take on this?

Gert Grobler: This is a major step forward in terms of sustainable development and poverty reduction. We know and the developing world knows that China will continue to take the lead in this regard as they did at the Human Rights Council, because China has such an important role to play as one of the major contributors to global stability and prosperity.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative, China-Europe Railway Express, Green Silk Road and Digital Silk Road will inject powerful momentum into achieving sustainable development goals and poverty reduction. China will be doing much more not only in the aspects I mentioned, but also on the economic infrastructure, ecological preservation, climate change, and so on. Therefore, that was a very positive development in Geneva.

Reporter | Keane, Hannah, Sherry (intern)

Video | Jason (intern)

Editor | Wing, Jerry

Art Design | Mia

Huang Yanting (intern) also contributed to this report.