President,

I thank Secretary-General António Guterres and Executive Director Sima Bahous for the briefings, and thank Ms. Olga Uskova and Ms. Noura Erakat for their statements. 

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the World Conference on Women in Beijing, and the 25th anniversary of the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security. Over the decades, the global women's cause has been flourishing and making continued positive contributions to international peace and development. At present, with a volatile international situation and the still persisting violence, discrimination, and economic inequality against women, the protection of women's rights and interests and the promotion of the women's cause call for greater solidarity and joint efforts from the international community. I wish to share a few observations. 

First, we must strengthen conflict prevention and settlement. At present, over 600 million women are suffering from conflict. In Gaza, where the fighting persists, over a million Palestinian women and girls find themselves in a living hell and an appalling humanitarian catastrophe. In Haiti, West Africa, and the Sahel, rampant gang violence and terrorism severely threaten the lives and safety of women and girls. We call on the international community to act with greater urgency to promote the political settlement of hotspot issues and to create a peaceful and tranquil living environment for women. The Security Council should enhance solidarity and collaboration to fulfill its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, effectively promote ceasefires, advance political and diplomatic dialogues, and create more conditions to guarantee the safety of women. 

Second, we must support women's empowerment and development. Globally, nearly 10% of women are mired in extreme poverty. Countries should invest greater resources, provide women and girls with quality education, leverage digital technologies to improve women's competencies, improve the level of social security for women, and help women achieve the transformation from dependence to independence. The broad international community is calling on the Afghan Government to ensure equal rights of women in education, employment, and participation in public affairs. It is believed that this would be conducive to Afghanistan's peace, stability, and development. The Security Council and the international community should translate into reality the concept of development for peace and create more opportunities for women to enhance their capabilities and better participate in economic development, so as to resolve the root causes of conflict. 

Third, we must promote exchanges and cooperation in the field of women. The development of women's cause remains unbalanced among countries, with the annual funding gap for achieving gender equality in developing countries reaching as high as 420 billion US dollars. Developed countries should strengthen financial and technical support for developing countries. We support deepening South-South cooperation and the exchange of experience in women's development. We call on the international community to actively help with the reconstruction of conflict areas and make greater investments in healthcare, education, and training, among others, to jointly improve the situation of women. UN Women and UNDP, among others, need to play a greater role in helping resolve issues confronting women such as poverty, backwardness, discrimination, prejudice, and the development gap, to leave no woman or girl behind. 

President, 

As the host of the World Conference on Women in Beijing, in supporting the development of the global women's cause, China is both an advocate and a doer. China has sent a total of over 1,200 women peacekeepers and over 100 women peacekeeping police officers to UN peacekeeping operations, and supports the training program for senior women talents at the UN through the China-UN Peace and Development Fund. By implementing health programs, campus projects, and exchange and training, we support the development of women's livelihood in developing countries. China supports UN entities such as UN Women in helping enhance women's economic empowerment in developing countries and in particular in conflict areas. 

China will soon host another global leaders meeting on women in Beijing to build broad consensus on unity and cooperation, forge strong synergies to respond to challenges, and inject new impetus into the development of the global women's cause. We stand ready to work with the international community to make greater contributions to the realization of a better future for every woman. 

I thank you, President.