BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday delivered a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women in Beijing.

The following is the full text of the address:

Carrying Forward the Spirit of the Beijing World Conference on Women and Promoting the New and Accelerated Process for Women's All-Round Development

Keynote Address by H.E. Xi Jinping

President of the People's Republic of China

At the Opening Ceremony of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women

Beijing, October 13, 2025

Distinguished Colleagues and Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

Five years ago, I proposed another global leaders' meeting on women. Today, I am very pleased that we are having this gathering in Beijing to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and discussing ways to promote the global women's cause. On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I would like to extend warm congratulations on the opening of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women.

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. Thirty years ago, the Fourth World Conference on Women set the lofty goal of "Action for Equality, Development and Peace," and adopted the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Gender equality has been etched in the agenda of our times, galvanizing the whole world in its unwavering pursuit of that goal.

Over the past 30 years, guided by the spirit of the Beijing World Conference on Women, the cause of women has been thriving around the world, adding brilliant splendor to the progress of human civilization. Equality between men and women is now a universal consensus of the international community. It has been included in United Nations development agenda and priority development targets, and 189 countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The environment for women's livelihood and development has been improving steadily. Nearly 1,600 laws on women's rights and interests have been enacted by more than 190 countries, and more and more countries have made national action plans to improve women's well-being. Prominent progress has been achieved in women's empowerment. Their educational attainment has been steadily improving, and women are playing an ever more important role in economic, political, cultural, and social affairs. A great many outstanding women have stepped up to take the international stage, living their lives to the full and making contributions with their wisdom and strength.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

Women in every corner of the world are bound together by a shared future. At present, complex challenges still hamper their all-round development. Statistics show that globally, over 600 million women and girls are still mired in war and conflict, and around 10 percent of women and girls are trapped in extreme poverty. At the same time, deep-rooted problems such as violence and discrimination still persist, the gender digital divide is widening, and equality between men and women remains a lofty yet arduous task. 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. To this end, I wish to make four proposals.

First, we should jointly foster an enabling environment for women's growth and development. Their all-round development is achieved under the prerequisite of peace and tranquility. We need to uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and must safeguard world peace, so that all women can bask in the sunlight of happiness and tranquility and stay away from the shadow of war and turmoil. We need to enhance the protection of women and girls in regions struck by war, conflict, poverty or natural disaster, and support the vital role of women in preventing conflict and rebuilding their homes. We should improve mechanisms against violence and resolutely crack down on all forms of violence against women.

Second, we should jointly cultivate powerful momentum for the high-quality development of women's cause. Modernization of the world should involve and benefit women. We should proactively address the imbalance and inadequacy of women's development around the world, enable all women to share the benefits of economic globalization, and propel women's all-round development. We need to seize the opportunity of the new wave of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and empower women's high-quality development through innovation. We need to support women in playing an even bigger role in green development, and strive to help them shine in life and realize their dreams in this era of global modernization.

Third, we should jointly develop governance frameworks to protect women's rights and interests. We need to improve institutions and laws, introduce further tangible and accessible policy measures, channel more quality health and educational resources to all women, and strive to afford all women full and equal enjoyment of various rights. We must promote an inclusive and harmonious social environment that sets women free from discrimination and bias. We should broaden the channels for women to participate in and deliberate on political affairs, and support their extensive engagement in state and social governance. We should jointly nurture an environment that respects women, and morph gender equality into a common value and a code of conduct embraced by everyone in our society.

Fourth, we should jointly write a new chapter in promoting global cooperation on women. Not long ago, I proposed the Global Governance Initiative, calling for a more just and equitable global governance system with the people's interests in mind. Women are crucial in reforming and improving the global governance system. We must support them in assuming their historic responsibilities, enabling them to play a substantive role in global governance and share in its benefits. We should support the central role of the United Nations, urging it to pay more attention to the needs of women in developing countries, create broad cooperation platforms for women from all countries, and continually deepen exchanges and mutual learning, so as to help women across the world thrive and shine together.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

In China, the cause of women has always been an integral part of the epic Chinese modernization endeavors. Thanks to years of hard work, we have secured historic achievements and seen historic changes in the cause of women in China. We have won the largest battle against poverty in human history, and thereby brought moderate prosperity to 690 million women, achieving ahead of schedule the poverty reduction goal of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We have reduced maternal mortality ratio by nearly 80 percent since 1995, and joined the leading upper-middle-income countries in core indicators for maternal and child health. Today, women in China truly "hold up half the sky" in economic and social development. They make up more than 40 percent of the workforce, more than half of internet start-up founders, and more than 60 percent of all medalists in the past four Summer Olympic Games. In the new era, Chinese women, more confident and vibrant than ever before, are taking part in the whole process of state and social governance. They are fighting on the front lines for rural revitalization and common prosperity as well as scientific innovation and digital transition. They are writing a splendid history of the cause of women in China. On the new journey of Chinese modernization, every woman is a star.

China actively provides opportunities and support for global women's cause through its development. We have initiated the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, and set up the Prize for Girls and Women's Education in partnership with UNESCO. We have launched "maternal and child health," "happy campuses," and other "small and beautiful" public welfare projects. We are actively promoting international exchanges and cooperation on women under Belt and Road cooperation, in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and within other frameworks.

To further support the global cause of women, I'd like to make the following announcement: In the next five years, China will donate another $10 million to UN Women; earmark a quota of $100 million in China's Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund for implementing development cooperation projects for women and girls in collaboration with international organizations; launch 1,000 "small and beautiful" livelihood programs with Chinese assistance that take women and girls as priority beneficiaries; invite 50,000 women to China for exchange and training programs; and establish a Global Center for Women's Capacity Building, which is aimed at conducting capacity building and other development cooperation with relevant countries and international organizations to train more female talent.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, "Steadfast dedication yields an enduring fragrance." Standing at this new historic starting point, let us carry forward the spirit of the Beijing World Conference on Women, bear in mind the goal of a community with a shared future for humanity, accelerate the new process of women's all-round development, and jointly create a better future for the human race.

I wish the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women a full success. Thank you!