Statement at the General Discussion of the 65th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women by H.E. Ms. Jie XIA, Deputy Chairwoman of the National Working Committee on Women and Children of the State Council of China

Mr. Chair,

The Chinese delegation would like to thank the Chair and the Bureau for the excellent work and wish the session a complete success.

The past year has been an extraordinary one. Covid-19 ravaged the world, taking a heavy toll on humankind and bringing even greater challenges to women. In the face of the pandemic, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government have always insisted that people come first and life comes first, making every effort to protect people’s lives and health. China’s great emphasis on protecting the rights and wellbeing of women and children is illustrated in President Xi Jinping’s explicit instruction that “close attention should be paid to maternal, infant and child cases”. Rapidly and intensively, our country issued policies and measures on epidemic prevention and control among children and pregnant and postnatal women, treatment of maternal diseases and safe delivery assistance. The government has reduced fees and taxes, increased fiscal subsidies and boosted financial support to ease the burden on women and women-led businesses as they participate in economic recovery.

In the fight against the pandemic and the resumption of production, Chinese women have “supported half of the sky”. Women made up 2/3 of the 42,000 health workers who rushed to help Hubei Province. Female medical professionals, researchers, community workers and volunteers braved the hardship and worked around the clock to write chapters of extraordinary achievements in all walks of life.

Mr. Chair,

Poverty is a chronic disease of human society. The Communist Party of China (CPC) has placed poverty eradication high on its agenda and led the Chinese people in a vigorous, massive and decisive battle against poverty, winning a comprehensive victory.Since the reform and opening up, 770 million rural Chinese have been lifted out of poverty, accounting for more than 70% of the global poverty-alleviated population in the same period. China has attained the poverty reduction goal set out in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule, making major contribution to the cause of global poverty reduction. During this process, China has always paid close attention to women’s poverty reduction. Among others, preferential policies, practical measures and special projects were introduced

1 to help women shake off poverty and ensure that no poor woman is left behind on the path to moderate prosperity.

Mr. Chair,

Last year marked the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing. President Xi Jinping made an important statement at the UN General Assembly High-level Meeting on the 25th Anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, in which he put forward four proposals, i.e., “minimize the impact of COVID-19 on women; strive for genuine gender equality; ensure that women advance at the forefront of our times; and enhance global cooperation in advancing women’s development”, and emphasized that in both containing COVID-19 and promoting post-COVID economic and social recovery, it is particularly important that we address the special needs of women and deliver on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Last year, in cooperation with UN Women, we organized a symposium on Women and Poverty Reduction in the 21st Century in Beijing to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the 5th anniversary of the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. Professor Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping, attached great importance to the event and delivered a video message.

Mr. Chair,

This year, we will celebrate the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and initiate a new journey of building a socialist modern country on all fronts. In the 14th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development, the Chinese government has once again made it clear that it will “adhere to the basic state policy of equality between men and women and protect the legitimate rights and interests of women and children”. This year, we are also preparing the 4th ten-year China National Program for Women’s Development and China National Program for Children’s Development for the purpose of building institutional safeguards to ensure that the cause of women and children goes hand in hand with economic and social development.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), we have successfully blazed a path of socialism with Chinese characteristics that has won extensive support from the people, as well as a path of women’s liberation and development with Chinese characteristics. We are ready to work with other countries to further enhance communication and cooperation in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, and contribute to the building and sharing of a better world for all women and all people!

Thank you very much!

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