Full text of Vice-President Li Yuanchao's remarks at opening ceremony of W20 meeting in Xi'an (1)

Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the W20 meeting on Wednesday.

The following is the full text of Li's speech:

Promote Women' s Equal Participation and Foster Innovative Development of the World Economy

Remarks by Vice-President Li Yuanchao

At the Opening Ceremony of the W20 Meeting

25 May 2016, Xi'an

Distinguished Ministers, Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

Today women representatives of G20 members and relevant international organizations gather in China's historical capital of Xi'an for the W20 Meeting. I would like to extend, on behalf of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese government, warm congratulations to the W20 Meeting and warm welcome to all the participants. China holds the G20 presidency in 2016. President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the W20 Meeting. He hopes that all parties build consensus for positive outcomes and make contribution to the success of G20 Hangzhou Summit and invigoration of the world economy.

The G20 is an important mechanism of global economic governance and an important platform for international economic cooperation. The success of the G20 summit 2016 is crucial for global economic recovery and growth. As women are important participants, contributors and beneficiaries of the world economic development, the theme of this year's W20 - "Equal Participation and Innovative Development" carries great significance.

Last September at the Global Leaders' Meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, with a view to carrying forward the spirit of the World Women's Conference in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping chaired the meeting and made an important speech, calling for women's development in tandem with social and economic development, protecting women's rights and interests and fostering a global environment favorable for women's development. The four points embody the global consensus on women's equal participation and gains broad recognition by the international community. We should work together to translate the initiative into reality and consensus into deliverables and promote common progress of women in the world and innovative development of the global economy.

First, efforts should be made to promote women's entrepreneurship, employment and equal participation in the development process. Women hold up "half of the sky" of human society. Women' s businesses and employment is a key driving force behind innovative development. In recent years, the level of women' s participation in economic development has been on the rise, but women still face many challenges in opening their own businesses and finding jobs, and there is a lacking of social recognition for women' s potential, talent and contribution. According to the World Bank reports, elimination of all forms of discrimination against women workers and managers will raise per capita productivity by 40%. It is all the more important to pool women' s wisdom and strength at a time when the global economic recovery remains fragile. As the Chinese economy moves into a New Normal, efforts are made to encourage mass innovation and entrepreneurship and women are essential in this endeavor. To support women entrepreneurship, the government and women' s organizations have worked with financial institutions to issue a total of over 290 billion yuan of government subsidized micro-credit to women. Handicraft industry with women characteristics has developed quickly in Sichuan Province. For 7 years, it has helped 230 thousand women get flexible employment to work from home, with an annual output value of 4.6 billion yuan. Women have unique strengths in the internet economy and currently account for 55% of the entrepreneurs in this sector. Internet Sister in Jilin, an e-commerce start-up project, provides skills training and helps open online shops free of charge for women wishing to run businesses on the internet and has created nearly 3000 online shops so far. Women are major forces behind technological innovation. In China 40% of scientists and technicians are women. An increasing number of women are entering the technology and knowledge intensive industries, and women take up over half of university enrollment. Tapping the full potential of women is an important feature of a modernized human society. Countries should adopt proper development strategies in accordance with their national conditions and women' s situations, promote women' s equal participation in development process with innovative policies and encourage more women to add impetus and make contribution to economic growth. (Mo