By Busayo Onijala
Yan Yuqing, Consul General of China in Lagos, says her country is charting a new path for global women’s development through practical initiatives that integrate national progress with gender equality.
Yan made this known in her message on the reopening of the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women scheduled in Beijing from Oct. 13 to Oct. 14.
The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, which adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
The upcoming meeting, co-hosted by China and UN Women seeks to reaffirm the spirit of the conference and accelerate the implementation of its outcomes.
Yan said the meeting, alongside the release of a new white paper titled “China’s Achievements in Women’s Well-Rounded Development in the New Era”, reflects China’s continued commitment to the empowerment of women and girls.
According to her, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the government have elevated the advancement of women to a national priority, integrating gender equality into all stages of policy and governance.
Yan noted that China had made legislative progress by enacting its first Civil Code, incorporating laws on marriage and family, and strengthening legal protections.
This, she said, is through the Law Against Domestic Violence and the Law on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests.
She added that gender assessment mechanisms now exist across all provinces, while women’s federations have provided legal awareness and services reaching more than 400 million women.
Highlighting women’s growing participation in politics, Yan said women constitute 26.5 per cent of the National People’s Congress and 22.4 per cent of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the highest in the country’s history.
She said women account for 43 per cent of the workforce and 45.8 per cent of professionals in science and technology.
“Women have also made outstanding contributions in cutting-edge fields such as manned spaceflight, domestically produced large aircraft, biomedicine, deep-sea exploration, and artificial intelligence.
“In cultural prosperity, female cultural workers have produced an abundance of high-quality works, with women accounting for 25 per cent of the 3,997 national-level inheritors of intangible cultural heritage.”
On the global stage, the envoy said China had integrated deeply into international cooperation on women’s affairs through the Global Development, Security, and Civilization Initiatives championed by China’s President Xi Jinping.
She said China, in partnership with the United Nations, co-hosted the Global Summit on Women and established the Education Award for Girls and Women, while supporting empowerment initiatives through APEC, the G20, and other multilateral platforms.
“We have implemented projects worth more than 40 million dollars in the women’s sector in over 20 countries, and our mushroom grass technology has helped women in 106 countries find employment,” Yan said.
Speaking on China-Nigeria relations, Yan said she had witnessed growing exchanges between women from both countries, citing charity projects including “Together Fight Hunger” and the “Small World” cultural event which promote mutual understanding.
She noted that Chinese women in Nigeria, including female teachers at Confucius Institutes have played active roles in promoting education and cultural exchange, while Nigerian women have benefited from capacity-building training in China.
Yan also highlighted the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Action Plan (2025–2027) which incorporates multiple initiatives.
This, she said, includes supporting women’s dialogue, enhancing capacity building for African women and promoting women’s comprehensive development.
According to her, this plan charts the course for deepening cooperation between China and Nigeria, as well as China and Africa in women’s affairs.
“This vividly illustrates China’s commitment to translating its pledge to advance global women’s causes into concrete actions.
“From initiative to practice, the path of women’s development that bridges Chinese wisdom with global action grows ever broader.
“Let us pool our wisdom and unite our strength, jointly tackle new challenges in the digital age, explore fresh pathways for women’s empowerment, and write a new chapter in the advancement of women’s causes,” Yan said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Yakubu Uba
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