China’s Consul General in Lagos, Yan Yuqing, has said her country is committed to advancing global women’s empowerment through new initiatives and stronger international cooperation.
Yuqing stated this at the Lagos Forum: Dialogue on Women Empowerment, organized by the Chinese Consulate on Sunday in Lagos.
The event marked the conclusion of the Global Leaders Meeting on Women, co-hosted by China and UN Women in Beijing.
He said gender equality remains a core national policy in China, firmly rooted in the Communist Party’s governance agenda.
According to her, President Xi Jinping has reinforced this priority by announcing several new initiatives over the next five years, including an additional $10 million donation to UN Women and $100 million from China’s Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund.
“China will also launch 1,000 small and beautiful livelihood projects focused on women and girls,” Yuqing said, adding that 50,000 women would be invited to China for exchange and training programs.
She also announced plans to establish a Global Center for Women’s Capacity Building to foster more female talents through development partnerships.
Yuqing, who is China’s first Consul General in Lagos, said she was proud of the progress made in promoting women’s rights in Nigeria and around the world.
He noted that China had lifted 690 million women out of poverty, achieving the UN’s 2030 poverty reduction goal ahead of schedule.
“Women now make up more than 40 percent of China’s workforce, half of all internet startup founders and more than 60 percent of recent Olympic medalists,” she said.
Yuqing emphasized that gender equality requires collective commitment and action, noting that President Xi had proposed four key measures: creating an enabling environment, promoting high-quality development, protecting women’s rights through effective governance, and deepening global cooperation.
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He highlighted China’s role in platforms such as APEC and the G20, and its deployment of more than 1,200 female peacekeepers in UN missions, providing aid to women and children in conflict zones.
“More than 600 million women and girls around the world are still living in wars and conflicts, and about 10 percent are in extreme poverty,” she said, quoting Nigeria’s Minister of Women’s Affairs, Sulaiman Ibrahim, who noted that empowering women is “an investment in peace and prosperity.”
She called on countries to use the outcomes of the World Leaders Meeting to accelerate the implementation of the Beijing Declaration, strengthen the United Nations 2030 Agenda and leverage digital tools to empower women.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Bolaji Dada, commended the Chinese Consulate and the Chinese Women’s Association in Nigeria for their continued advocacy and partnership in supporting women’s development.
“As we celebrate this milestone, we must renew our shared determination to build a world where women can reach their full potential,” Dada said.
(YAYA)
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