By Liu Xianfa, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region
The Global Leader’s Meeting on Women with the theme of “One Shared Future: New and Accelerated Process For Women’s All-round Development”, was grandly held in Beijing from October 13th to 14th, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and discussing ways to promote the global women’s cause. President Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony and delivered keynote address titled “Carrying Forward the Spirit of the Beijing World Conference on Women and Promoting the New and Accelerated Process for Women’s All-Round Development”. He comprehensively and systematically introduced the achievements of Chinese modernization and the cause of women in China of the new era, putting forward China’s propositions for accelerating the new process of women’s all-round development in light of global trends, and announced China’s solutions for further supporting the development of the global women’s cause. With successful practices and fruitful achievements, China has contributed another vivid example of “China’s governance” to the whole world.
In China, the cause of women has always been an important part of Chinese modernization. Since its founding in 1921, the Communist Party of China has remained committed to women’s liberation and gender equality. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, a series of laws and regulations protecting women’s rights were enacted, leading to historic improvements in women’s status. Women have made historic breakthroughs in education, employment, political participation and marital autonomy. Entering into the new era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has emphasized safeguarding women’s lawful rights and interests and promoting gender equality and women’s all-round development as integral components of Chinese modernization. A series of pioneering, overall and long-term major decisions and plans have been made, and the women’s cause in China has secured historic achievements and gone through historic changes. We have won the largest battle against poverty in human history and thereby brought moderate prosperity to 690 million women. We have reduced maternal mortality rate by nearly 80 percent since 1995, and joined the leading upper-middle-income countries in core indicators for maternal and child health. Nowadays women make up more than 40 percent of China’s total workforce and more than half of the internet start-up entrepreneurs in China. In the new era, Chinese women, more confident and vibrant, are taking part in the whole process of state and social governance. The cause of women in China has enjoyed unparalleled broader developing spaces and a more promising prospect ever than before.
After its return to the motherland, Macao has witnessed a golden age of development of women’s cause. The educational attainment, employment participation, industry coverage, professional level and income of women in Macao have all significantly improved. Women in all walks of life have made significant contributions with great courage and enthusiasm to the development of Macao, holding up half the sky. Since 2008, the Women’s General Association of Macao has been granted special consultative status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, thus officially enjoying qualification recognized by the United Nations to participate in international affairs and taking part in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) sessions for 15 consecutive years. It has become an indispensable force of telling stories of China and the successful practice of “one country, two systems” in Macao to the international community.
China has always been a firm supporter and active contributor to the development of global women’s cause. As President Xi Jinping pointed out, women play an important role in creating, promoting and carrying forward human civilization and the international community has a shared responsibility to advance the cause of women. China stands for the vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity, and has turned the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Governance Initiative into concrete actions to promote all-round development of women with the efforts of actively providing opportunities and support for global women’s cause through its development. China actively participates in global governance in the field of women, supports the United Nations in giving priority to related work, sets up the Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education in partnership with UNESCO, and has announced three consecutive donations of $10 million to UN Women. In the face of global challenges, China has dispatched more than 1,200 female officers and soldiers to participate in UN peacekeeping operations, providing humanitarian assistance to women and children affected by conflicts and disasters. China has been deepening exchanges and cooperation among women all over the world, maintaining friendly exchanges with women’s organizations and institutions in over 140 countries, implementing projects worth more than $40 million in women’s sector in over 20 countries, cultivating over 200,000 female talents for more than 180 countries and regions, and providing assistance for women’s employment in over 100 countries. The development of women’s cause in China has provided a Chinese solution for global women’s cause that can be referred to, and has been widely recognized and highly praised by the international community.
Rededicating ourselves to the purpose of the Beijing World Conference on Women and joining hands to create a bright future for the development of global women’s cause. Globally, gender-based violence, digital gap, and shadow of war and conflict still persist. Looking ahead, we should rededicate ourselves to the purpose of the Beijing World Conference on Women, and build greater consensus, broaden the paths forward, and take more concrete actions to accelerate the new process of women’s all-round development. President Xi Jinping, standing at the height of the progress of human civilization and the peaceful development of the world, with a global vision and sense of responsibility as leader of a major country, has put forward four suggestions for the global women’s cause: “we should jointly foster an enabling environment for women’s growth and development”, “we should jointly cultivate powerful momentum for the high-quality development of women’s cause”, “we should jointly develop governance frameworks to protect women’s rights and interests” and “we should jointly write a new chapter in promoting global cooperation on women”. A series of latest measures taken by China to support the development of global women’s cause are also announced. China is willing to work with all countries in the world to confront global challenges, adhere to an action-oriented approach, accelerate the new process of women’s all-round development with unity, confidence, courage and practice, promote the building of a more just and reasonable global governance system, and join hands to build a community with a shared future for humanity.
As an active advocate and firm doer of global cooperation on women’s cause, China will continue to work with other countries and jointly open up a new chapter in women’s all-round development!
Undated file photo of Commissioner Liu Xianfa. – Photo courtesy of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region.
