China's achievements in and the high-level commitment to promoting gender equality have provided fundamental guarantees for the development of women's causes, said Christine Arab, regional director of UN Women Asia and the Pacific.
Arab made the comments in an interview with the China Media Group (CMG) in Beijing ahead of the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women, which took place in the Chinese capital from October 13 to 14.
She said that China's strong political will has decisively driven the advancement of the cause of women, while a lack of political will makes it difficult to achieve nationwide progress.
"Political will is everything, and we can pinpoint exactly where gains have been made on the planet to that level of political will. There's no question that the women's rights holders and voices in China have played pivotal roles in working with the government and understanding what needs to happen. But it takes the leaders of governments to make those changes and to enforce those changes," Arab said.
"And we see the difference in the countries where the leaders don't have that commitment. Then we can have pockets of gain at the local level, but not nationwide and it is crucial," she added.
China's gender equality efforts secure women's development: UN official
