On 1 December, Consul General Yan Yuqing attended the inaugural ceremony of the Nigerian branch of the World Women's Organisation and delivered a keynote address. The full text of the address is as follows:
Special Guest of Honour, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, CON, Former Minister of Transportation,
Senator Gbemisola Saraki, Former Minister of State, Mines & Steel Development,
Barrister Sharon Ikeazor, Former Minister of State for Environment,
Mrs. Mary Ekpere, Former Director General, National Women Commission,
Mrs. Cecilia Bolaji Dada, Hon. Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation,
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, friends:
Good morning!
It’s a pleasure for me to attend today’s event. First, please allow me to extend my warm congratulations, on behalf of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Lagos, on the inauguration ceremony of the World Women Organization Nigeria.
Today’s theme is about women’s empowerment. It reminds me of the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women successfully held in China in mid-October this year, during which representatives from over 110 countries gathered in Beijing to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Beijing World Conference on Women. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech, and representatives from many countries, including Nigeria, made powerful statements, injecting strong momentum into the progress of the global women's cause.
On October 19, to further advance the cause of women’s development, the Chinese Consulate General, together with the Association of Chinese Women in Nigeria, hosted a grand Women’s Empowerment Dialogue. My good friend, Hon. Cecilia Bolaji Dada, as well as (if present)the World Women Organization Nigeria, also took part in that dialogue. I would like to take this opportunity to once again express my gratitude for your participation.
China is a champion of women’s causes worldwide and a leader in action.
China has consistently integrated its national development process with the advancement of gender equality, and the fundamental state policy of gender equality has been enshrined in the Chinese Communist Party’s governing agenda.
In late October this year, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee adopted the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, making a comprehensive set of initiatives for advancing the well-being of women and children. We reaffirm clearly the fundamental national policy of promoting gender equality and safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of women and children. These commitments provide a guiding vision for fostering gender equality, promoting the all-round development of women and children, and contributing to social progress by realizing harmony, happiness, and well-being in every family.
On the new journey of Chinese-style modernization, every woman is a protagonist. As China advances high-quality development, an even broader stage will be built for empowering women. In Nowadays’ China, women 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, which is how we truly bring to life the saying that ‘women hold up half the sky.’
At the same time, to my pride, women diplomats, who account for more than one-third of China’s diplomatic corps, are excellent, dedicated and an important force in China's diplomacy. I’m one of the China’s women diplomats, and my daughter is so proud of me. She often tells her classmates that she has a diplomat mother working in Africa, and that she also wants to become a diplomat in the future.
China upholds the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and engages in global governance for women’s affairs with unprecedented depth. President Xi Jinping’s initiatives on global development, security, civilization, and governance has been transformed into concrete actions that advance the comprehensive development of women.
As the first female Consul General of China in Lagos, I am proud to witness the advancement of women’s causes in Nigeria firsthand. Our consulate, in collaboration with overseas Chinese enterprises and academic institutions within consular district, has jointly launched several branded public-welfare programs, including the Renewed Hope, Rebirth from the Light initiative to finance cataract treatment for Nigerian patients, and the Together Fight Hunger program to support low-income Nigerian families. These programs have extended assistance to numerous Nigerian women and children.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and a pivotal year for implementing the outcomes of the Beijing Summit. And next year, we will welcome both the China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges and the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Nigeria. We will continue to advance the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Ten Partnership Actions of FOCAC with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and further expand South-South cooperation in the field of women’s empowerment. Our Consulate General is also willing to continue working hand in hand with the Lagos State Government, the World Women Organization Nigeria, Chinese associations and enterprises in Nigeria, to implement more ‘small and beautiful’ charity projects, facilitating more local women and children to enjoy a happy life.
Women in every corner of the world are bound together by a shared future. Let’s continue to explore fresh pathways for women’s empowerment, and write a new chapter in the advancement of women’s causes.
Thank you all!