Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning! It's my pleasure to attend the Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation on the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I wish this consultation meeting success.

There is a Chinese saying that “Women hold up half the sky”. China attaches great importance to the cause of women and gender equality, with four Outlines of Women's Development in China being successively formulated and implemented. Last year, the fundamental national policy of gender equality once again was written into the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which provides an important political guarantee for optimizing women's development environment and safeguarding their legal rights and interests.

China is firmly opposed to violence against women. A comprehensive legal system has been established to protect women's rights and interests. We have cracked down on all kinds of criminal activities that may infringe on women's rights, effectively safeguarding women's lives and physical health.

The level of education for Chinese women has risen significantly. We closed the gender gap in compulsory education and increased the proportion of female students enrolled in undergraduate and tertiary education to over 50%. This has laid an important foundation for promoting the status and social participation of women.

The number of Chinese women in employment and entrepreneurship has increased dramatically, accounting for more than 40 percent of the country's workforce. With the development of digital economy in China, new industries like digital trade, e-commerce, and live streaming have emerged, creating 57 million female jobs and promoting more equal, full, and high-quality employment and entrepreneurship for women.

In China, women make up almost half of the workers in the field of science and technology innovation, accounting for 48.5%, much higher than the global rate of 33%. A lot of excellent outcomes have been achieved by Chinese women in the field of Internet, physics, medicine, mathematics, aerospace, and many other science and technology fields.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The world is now entering a new period of turbulence and transformation, and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development faces challenges. We need to contribute more efforts to build a world where women are not discriminated against and form a society with inclusive development.

First, we should focus on development. Important infrastructure such as electricity and the Internet need to be developed, which forms the hardware foundation for women to participate in the digital age. At the same time, we need to enhance education and training to improve women's soft power of employment and economic participation. Discrimination and prejudice against women should be eliminated, and violations of women's rights such as human trafficking and violence should be strictly cracked down. Besides, new challenges such as online sexual violence should also be effectively addressed.

Second, we should strengthen cooperation, and integrate women's empowerment into the overall framework of international development cooperation. The flow of talents, funds, and technology should be promoted to developing countries and to areas contributing to women's development.

Third, we should support the United Nations to play a greater role. UN organizations such as UN Women, UNDP, and UNESCAP provide platforms for multistakeholders to promote experience sharing and policy exchange. We could make good use of them to carry out cooperation projects in the field of gender equality and women's empowerment, in order to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Ladies and gentlemen,

China has always been an advocate of gender equality and a promoter of international women's development. China is ready to work with all countries to implement the priority goals set out in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action of the Beijing World Conference on Women, continuously injecting new momentum into the development of the global women's cause.

Thank you all!