BEIJING -- A white paper released Wednesday by the State Council Information Office said China has firmly established a governance principle of respecting and protecting human rights.

"It is the determination and ultimate goal of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government to respect and protect human rights," said the document, titled "Progress in Human Rights over the 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up in China."

Since the launch of reform and opening up in 1978, "respecting and protecting human rights" has been written into the reports to CPC National Congresses, the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, the Constitution of the CPC, and strategies and plans for national development, becoming an important principle of governance for the CPC and the Chinese government, it said.

According to the white paper, that the state respects and protects human rights has been established as an important principle of the Constitution of China.

Also, the CPC pursues human rights protection in its governance, the document said.

The white paper noted that it has become a core goal of national development to respect and protect human rights.