[Press release]

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BEIJING, China — Concluding a three-day official visit to the People’s Republic of China, UN Women Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific Christine Arab reaffirmed the organization’s strong partnerships with China at the global, regional and country level, and reiterated UN Women’s commitment to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment through strengthened partnerships with Government, academia, civil society, the private sector and other key stakeholders.

From 14 to 16 September, the visit focused on deepening strategic cooperation with the People’s Republic of China in advancing gender equality through South-South Cooperation across Asia, the Pacific and globally, as well as discussing on-going partnerships in China.

In her meeting with H.E. Lin Yi, Vice President and Member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF), Arab reaffirmed the organizations’ long-standing partnership. The two sides also explored opportunities to deepen collaboration in support of related commitments from Beijing+30, South-South Cooperation,  and to accelerate progress for the Sustainable Development Goals.

Arab met with Director-General Shen Jian of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and Director-General Tang Ying of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA). Discussions highlighted the strong partnership between UN Women and China and opportunities to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment through global partnerships, including South-South and triangular cooperation at the global and regional levels. Discussions also focused on the People’s Republic of China’s continued strong partnership within UN Women’s Executive Board in advancing the implementation of our mandate, and as one of the Entity’s key and steadfast donors.

At the China Women’s University, Arab met with President Liu Liqun to explore expanded South-South collaborations through joint research, convenings, knowledge-exchange and other initiatives. President Liu Liqun also accompanied Arab on visits to two exhibitions showcasing the university’s history and the work of the Global Center for Women’s Capacity-Building.

During her visit, Arab also met with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to discuss on-going UN Women/AIIB global partnerships to advance gender equality within innovative financing, business executives, signatories of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and civil society representatives. These exchanges provided opportunities to discuss how partnerships across diverse sectors can help translate commitments into concrete action and accelerate progress for gender equality in China, globally and across the region.

Arab met with the UN Women China Country Office team to discuss the office’s priorities, achievements and evolving areas of work, while reaffirming UN Women’s commitment to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in China and beyond.

Throughout her visit, the Regional Director underscored the importance of strong institutional partnerships, South-South and triangular cooperation and sustained engagement across sectors to turn shared commitments into tangible results for women and girls.

UN Women will continue to work closely with the Government of the People’s Republic of China, development partners, civil society organizations, the media and the business community to advance the Beijing+30 Action Agenda and accelerate progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for ALL Women and Girls nationally, regionally and globally.