60 million trips made last year, ministry says

The number of trips abroad made by Chinese mainland residents in 2017 was estimated at more than 60 million, according to a senior Chinese diplomat in charge of consular affairs.

In addition, the Foreign Ministry and Chinese diplomatic missions overseas worked with various departments on about 70,000 cases regarding consular protection and assistance during the year, Guo Shaochun, director general of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Consular Affairs, said at a news conference on Wednesday in Beijing.

Major cases included evacuating citizens from Hurricane Maria in Dominica, the floods in Nepal and volcano eruptions in Indonesia, Guo said.