Mr. Chairman,

The Chinese delegation aligns itself with the statement made by Fiji on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. We appreciate the positive progress achieved by the UN system in gender mainstreaming and support UN Women in playing a bigger role in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. China would like to make the following observations:

First, seize the opportunity of Beijing+20 to take forward the work related to women. The Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action adopted in 1995 at the 4th World Women's Conference in Beijing have established goals for women's development in 12 priority areas, which remain important guidance for our work till this day. China welcomes the fact that the UN Secretary General has initiated the comprehensive review and assessment of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action on the occasion of their 20th anniversary. We support the international community and individual countries in organizing commemorative activities in 2015 with a view to further amalgamating the political will to tackle various challenges facing the cause of women. As it happens, 2015 is also the target year for the realization of the MDGs and the starting point of the post-2015 development agenda. China is favor of giving full consideration to the gender question in the formulation of the post-2015 development agenda. We call on the international community to seize this opportunity to turn political will into concrete actions and put into practice legislations and policies in the field of women.

Second, energetically promote women's participation in development. Women represent an engine for social development. Against the backdrop of the financial crisis, women's decent employment, their participation in productive activities and their access to social protection will not only facilitate economic recovery of countries, but also help ensure women's survival and development and enable them to live a more dignified and happier life. China supports the observations and recommendations contained in the Secretary General's report on women's participation in development (A/68/271). We believe that governments should take measures in legal, administrative, educational and social fields in an integrated manner to eliminate employment discrimination, enhance employment related service and training for women, support women in starting their own business and safeguard the rights and interests of women workers, with a view to promoting women's development.

Third, pay greater attention to rural women. Rural women are the key force for agricultural and rural development, and improving rural women's situation will help eradicate poverty. For various reasons, rural women are at a disadvantage compared with rural men and urban women when it comes to obtaining resources and opportunities for development and getting their share of the fruits of development. Moreover, with the accelerated industrialization and urbanization of developing countries, the "feminization" of agricultural activities is fast increasing. China supports the UN in paying more attention to the empowerment of rural women in considering the question of gender equality. We also support the UN in playing a greater role in helping rural women get out of poverty, improve their level of education and gain access to health care services.

Fourth, take effective measures to eliminate violence against women. The agreed conclusions adopted this year by the 57th session of the CSW urge national governments to use all appropriate means to prevent and punish violence against women. China appreciates the campaign launched by Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon of "Unite to End Violence against Women" and commends the positive efforts of this campaign to strengthen public education and advocacy, promote the enacting and improvement of related domestic legislation, and eliminate cultural practices and customs of discrimination and of violence against women. The Chinese delegation has taken note of the Secretary General's report on violence against women migrant workers (A/68/178). We believe that all countries should work harder to protect the rights and interests of women migrants and safeguard their dignity and rights.

Mr. Chairman,

Attaching great importance to the cause of women, the Chinese government has gone all out to advance women's progress and development, and scored multiple achievements in recent years in the field of women's empowerment and development. The standing committee of our National People's Congress has included the legislation against domestic violence in its legislative work plan for the coming five years. By the end of 2012, micro-guaranteed-loans for women exceeded 100 billion RMB and discount loans reached 4.468 billion RMB. These financial instruments have helped millions of women start their own business or find employment.

The new collective leadership of China has put forward the vision of realizing the Chinese dream, which stands for the renewal of the Chinese nation. It has set forth two centennial goals for the 1.3 billion Chinese people, namely, to build a moderately prosperous society by 2020 and to turn China into a modern socialist country by the mid- 21st Century. Equal participation in socio-economic affairs by the Chinese women as "half the sky" of our society is an important component of our drive to realize the Chinese dream. We are convinced that the endeavor of the Chinese women to realize the Chinese dream will certainly advance the global women's cause.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.