Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Mongolia
Shen Minjuan
In 1995, China successfully hosted the Fourth World Conference on Women of the United Nations, at which the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action were adopted, putting gender equality firmly on the agenda of the times. On October 13 to 14 this year, at the 30th anniversary of the Conference, China once again held the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women in Beijing, setting a new milestone for the global women’s cause.
This is a gathering that showcases achievements. Over the past 30 years, China has made all-round progress in women’s development, setting a vivid example of China’s effective governance. 690 million women have entered a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Women’s average life expectancy has reached 80.9 years. “She power” has shone on the sports field, with women accounting for over 60% of China’s medal winners in the past four Summer Olympics. “She wisdom” has lit up the future, with women making up 45.8% of China’s scientific and technological workforce, more than half of the internet start-up founders, and over half of students in higher education. “She voice” has grown stronger, with women accounting for 26.54% of deputies to the National People’s Congress and 22.4% of members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, both record highs. Women’s participation in community-level governance has reached 54.3%. As President Xi Jinping has said, “On the new journey of Chinese modernization, every woman is a star.”
This is a gathering that deepens cooperation. In the same city 30 years ago, President Xi Jinping put forward four proposals to advance gender equality and women’s development.
We should jointly foster an enabling environment for women’s growth and development, so that all women can bask in the sunlight of happiness and tranquility and stay away from the shadow of war and turmoil and all forms of violence.
We should jointly cultivate powerful momentum for the high-quality development of women’s cause, so that they will shine in life and realize their dreams in this era of global modernization and share the fruits of globalization.
We should jointly develop governance frameworks to protect women’s rights and interests, so that women will be free from discrimination and bias and morph gender equality into a common value and a code of conduct embraced by everyone in our society.
We should jointly write a new chapter in promoting global cooperation on women and create broad cooperation platforms for women from all countries, so that women can assume their historic responsibilities and play a substantive role in global governance.
These four points provide China’s vision and solutions to speeding up women’s all-round development and building a more just and reasonable global governance system.
This is a gathering that calls for action. President Xi Jinping announced China would donate another USD 10 million to UN Women; earmark a quota of USD 100 million in China’s Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund for implementing development cooperation projects; launch 1,000 “small and beautiful” livelihood programs; invite 50,000 women to China for exchange and training programs; and establish a Global Center for Women’s Capacity Building to train more female talent. China will continue to share its experience in promoting women’s development, help more countries achieve common progress in women’s cause through concrete actions, and inject new impetus into global women’s development.
As the first female Ambassador of China to Mongolia, I saw and experienced for myself the development of China’s women’s cause, and I also hope to be a practitioner and advocate of China–Mongolia women’s cooperation. Here in Mongolia, I have made many outstanding female friends and also witnessed the remarkable progress of Mongolia’s women’s cause: the proportion of female members in the new State Great Khural has reached a historic high of 25%; women’s average life expectancy is nearly 10 years higher than that of men; the proportion of women receiving higher education exceeds that of men; and in recent years, Mongolia has hosted the Mongolia’s International Conference on Strengthening the Role of Women in Peacekeeping, the Female Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the World Women’s Forum, and the World Women Entrepreneurs Forum. Mongolian women are contributing their diligence, kindness and wisdom to national and social development.
My colleagues at the Embassy and I are also willing to do more for the development of Mongolia’s women’s cause. Not long ago, together with the UNFPA Representative in Mongolia, I launched a menstrual health program for schoolgirls in Selenge and Orkhon, aiming to improve sanitation conditions for schoolgirls, raise public awareness, and eliminate gender discrimination. In May this year, the Chinese Embassy invited 40 female herders from various provinces of Mongolia to China to study dairy and leather processing and e-commerce operations, helping them master skills and increase their incomes.
The future of women around the world are closely connected. China stands ready to work with Mongolia and other countries to carry forward the spirit of the Beijing World Conference on Women, implement the outcomes of the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women, and jointly write a new chapter in global women’s cooperation. Let’s synergize “She power,” “She wisdom” and “She voice” into a brighter “She future”!
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