The 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) was held at the United Nations (UN) headquarters, in New York, from March 9-19. The priority theme of the session was "Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls." Lin Yi, Vice-Chairperson of the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council, led the Chinese delegation.
During the session, Lin participated in the general debate; the ministerial roundtable, "Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all older women;" the high-level meeting, "Violence against women and girls;" and, "Harnessing digital and intelligent tech for women's rights protection," an side event hosted by China, some other countries and UN agencies.
Lin explained the guiding principles, from the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and from the keynote address by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women, both held in October 2025. Lin also shared the most recent progress in Chinese women's development, and the concrete measures taken by China to support global women's cause. Lin said women in every corner of the world are bound together by a shared future, and she called for strengthening international cooperation and building a community with a shared future for humanity.
On the session's sidelines, Lin met and had discussions with Sima Bahous, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director. Lin also met the heads of delegations and high-level representatives from the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, Egypt, Cuba, Serbia and Antigua and Barbuda. Many of her contacts indicated they were willing to work with China to implement the outcomes of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women. They also said they were eager to leverage the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund and the Global Center for Women's Capacity Building, as well as China's strength and experiences, as they promote women’s cause in their respective countries.
During the general debate and the high-level meeting, Lin said the current international situation remains turbulent, with more than 600 million women worldwide living amidst conflict and war. The harms caused by war are multidimensional. During World War II, Japanese militarists forcibly conscripted "comfort women," and, as such, committed grievous crimes against humanity. This, she continued, is an internationally recognized historical fact. However, there are forces in Japan who always attempt to deny, and even distort, the history of the forced conscription of "comfort women." China urges Japan to face the concerns of all parties concerned, do serious soul-searching on its history of aggression and properly handle issues left over from history, including the forced conscription of "comfort women," said Lin.
(Source: China Women's News)
Editor: Cui Rui
