China's intl humanitarian efforts hailed

China is an important contributor to global humanitarian efforts and a key partner of the International Committee of the Red Cross in a world of intense conflicts, said a senior official of the organization.

"The ICRC is trying to ensure that international humanitarian law is a political priority everywhere in the world," said Pierre Krahenbuhl, director-general of the ICRC, in an exclusive interview with China Daily in Beijing last week. "And when a country like China takes a position on that, we think it's important, and we want every single country in the world to take this very seriously."

Krahenbuhl said an important and resonant message from China came when President Xi Jinping highlighted, during a meeting in September with ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric, that humanitarianism is the great consensus that can unite different civilizations.