On October 16, Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives H.E. Mr. Kong Xianhua published a signed article titled "Advancing the Spirit of the Beijing World Conference on Women to Foster the All-Round Development of Women" in TMJ and other Maldivian mainstream media outlets. The full text is as follows:

Advancing the Spirit of the Beijing World Conference on Women to Foster the All-Round Development of Women

By Kong Xianhua

October 13 to 14, 2025, Chinahosted the Global Leaders' Meeting on Womenin Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote address at the opening ceremony. Under the theme "One Shared Future: New And Accelerate Process For Women's All-Round Development",the summit reaffirmed global commitments, built consensus, and charted a course for the future.

The event concluded with great success.President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of creating an enabling environment for the growth and development of women, fostering strong momentum for the high-quality advancement of women's causes, building sound governance systems to safeguard women's rights and interests, and opening a new chapter in global cooperation for women's empowerment.Over the next five years, China will donate an additional $10 millionto UN Women,provide $100 millionfrom the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund tosupport projects for women and girls in partnership with international organizations, implement 1,000 "small and beautiful" livelihood projects, invite 50,000 womento China for exchange andtraining programs, and establish a Global Women's Capacity-Building Centerto cultivate more outstanding female leaders.

Women play an important role in creating, promoting and carrying forward human civilization. The destinies of women around the world are closely intertwined, and the development of women's causes in China is deeply connected with that of the international community. In 1995, China successfully hosted the Fourth World Conference on Women, where the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Actionwas adopted-marking a historic milestone in the global advancement of gender equality.Today, it once again becomes a focal point for global women's progress.

Over the past three decades, under the guiding spirit of the Beijing World Conference on Women, the global cause of women has flourished, contributing vibrantly to the progress of human civilization. China's recently released white papertitled "China's Achievements in Women's Well-Rounded Development in the New Era" systematically outlines the country's accomplishments and experiences in promoting women's development, and vividly showcases the strength and contributions of Chinese women.

China has won the largest battle against poverty in human history, and thereby brought moderate prosperity to 690 million women, achieving ahead of schedule the poverty reduction goal of the UN2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China has reduced maternal mortality ratio by nearly 80% since 1995, and joined the leading upper-middle-income countries in core indicators for maternal and child health. Today, women in China truly "hold up half the sky" in economic and social development. They make up more than 40% of the workforce, more than half of internet start-up founders, and more than 60% of all medalists in the past 4 Summer Olympic Games.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzuand First Lady Sajidha Mohamed have long attached great importance to women's development, consistently emphasizing the diverse roles women play in national governance and social progress. Recently, it was a great honor for me to attend the 2025 Maldives Women in Policing Summit, where the First Lady delivered a powerful speech highlighting women as active forces for peace and development. Chinese Policewomen officials Ms. Liu Xiaoping from Hainan Province and Ms. Wu Ying from INTERPOL, also participated as panelists at the summit. By the end of this October, medical experts in maternal and child health from Sichuan Province will visit the Maldives to conduct training programs, promoting deeper collaboration in women's and children's health and delivering tangible benefits to Maldivian women and children. In November, delegation from the Sichuan Women's Federation will hold exchanges with the MaldivianMinistry of Social and Family Development The partnership between China and the Maldives in women's development continues to deepen and flourish.

With a shared future and common aspirations, China stands ready to work hand-in-hand with all countries to expand cooperation in women's development, jointly promote the high-quality development of global women's causes, and contribute actively to building a community with a shared future for mankind.