President Xi Jinping made his debut at United Nations headquarters in New York in September 2015 on the occasion of the world body's 70th anniversary. In just three days and two nights, his tightly packed schedule included a special engagement — he chaired and addressed the Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.

In his speech, Xi highlighted the important role of women, saying, "Women are creators of material and spiritual wealth, and represent an important force driving social development and progress."

During the meeting, Xi and 84 heads of state and government, as well as representatives of various countries, reaffirmed their commitment to advancing gender equality and women's development.

The global cause of women's development has always borne China's imprint.

Twenty years before Xi's speech at the UN, the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, setting a new landmark for global progress in gender equality.

It was during this conference that 189 countries adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which has been widely recognized as the most progressive and widely endorsed blueprint for women's and girls' rights worldwide.

To carry forward this legacy and ensure continued progress, the 1995 conference has been followed by a series of five-year reviews.

In 2020, at a UN high-level meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the conference, Xi once again addressed the global community on women's development. In a speech delivered via video link, he called for the protection of women's rights and interests to be upheld as a national commitment and proposed to hold another global leaders' meeting on women in 2025.

To deliver on Xi's proposal, China and UN Women will co-host the 2025 Global Leaders' Meeting on Women in Beijing from Monday to Tuesday. Dozens of heads of state and government, leaders of parliament, deputy prime ministers, ministerial-level officials, heads of international organizations and friends from around the world will attend the meeting, working to set another milestone for the development of the women's cause globally.

Unique contributions

Since the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China has made unique contributions to the global development of the women's cause through its own practices.

Over the past 30 years, China has steadfastly implemented the fundamental national policy of gender equality, successively rolled out four national programs for women's development, and established a legal system comprising over 100 laws and regulations to protect women's rights and interests.

Zhang Yongying, a researcher at the Women's Studies Institute of China, said the nation has always put great emphasis on gender equality and women's development, with the protection of women's rights incorporated into the reports of the 18th, 19th and 20th national congresses of the Communist Party of China, demonstrating a high-level commitment and systematic planning.

Since 2012, the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core has consistently acknowledged women's role as "supporting half the sky" and emphasized their contributions to national development.

On multiple occasions, Xi has set out the direction, objectives and pathways for advancing women's causes in the new era.

At the first Central Conference on the Party's Work related to People's Organizations in 2015, he highlighted the essential role of the All-China Women's Federation in uniting and serving women across the nation. His participation in the 11th, 12th and 13th national women's congresses, as well as subsequent talks with each newly elected leadership team of the federation, further reflects the central leadership's unwavering support.

The tangible success of this top-level commitment and vision is evidenced by China's poverty alleviation campaign, during which women proved to be not just beneficiaries but also active agents in the fight against poverty.

As China met the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development's poverty reduction target 10 years ahead of schedule, a total of 44.16 million rural women had been lifted out of absolute poverty.

In 2021, 10 individuals, including five women, were honored as national models for poverty alleviation. Among them was Zhang Guimei, founder and principal of China's first free high school for girls.

In a remote region in Yunnan province, where families often prioritized boys' education, she campaigned to convince parents of their daughters' potential, often walking door-to-door in mountainous villages to bring dropouts back to the classroom.

"I feel sad to see girls drop out of school because of poverty, as I always believe an educated woman can break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and change the future of three generations," she said.

Her dedication has paid off. Since the founding of Huaping High School for Girls in 2008, more than 2,000 girls from underprivileged homes have graduated from the school, many going on to universities and careers that their families never thought possible.

Through the implementation of various national programs and initiatives over the years, the gender divide in basic education in China has been largely eliminated, according to a white paper released last month by the State Council Information Office.

Titled "China's Achievements in Women's Well-Rounded Development in the New Era", the document showed that in 2024, schoolgirls made up 47.3 percent of kindergarten children, 46.9 percent of students in the nine-year compulsory education system, and 49.3 percent of high school students.

These achievements, together with those made in areas such as economic empowerment, health, employment, political participation and social security, stand as a testament to China's role as a key, long-term contributor to the global endeavor for women's well-rounded development.

'Advocate and doer'

Addressing the UN high-level meeting in 2020, Xi pledged China's consistent support for the global cause of women's development and called on countries to work together and redouble efforts to promote gender equality and advance women's development.

Since 2015, China has donated $20 million to UN Women and carried out practical cooperation with multiple specialized UN agencies on women's issues, according to the white paper.

As China's Permanent Representative to the UN Fu Cong said at a UN Security Council open debate last week, "China is both an advocate and a doer" in supporting the development of the global women's cause.

China has sent a total of over 1,200 female peacekeepers and over 100 female peacekeeping police officers to UN operations, and it supports the training program for senior female talent at the UN through the China-UN Peace and Development Fund, Fu noted, adding that the country has also supported the development of women's livelihood in developing countries through implementing health programs, and exchange and training.

Nancy Shukri, Malaysia's minister of women, family and community development, praised China's pivotal role in advancing women's development and global gender equality.

"Malaysia believes that by working closely with China, we can accelerate the advancement of women's leadership, security and economic participation, and contribute more to the global gender equality agenda," she told Xinhua News Agency.

jihaisheng@chinadaily.com.cn