By Liu Chen
Beijing Foreign Studies University
Shanxi University
In one area of “Modernization”, the world seems to be making remarkable progress, such as the global gross domestic product (GDP) has increased almost fourfold in volume since the 1980. At the same time, in another area these efforts seem to be at a standstill. Gender issues are what a just world and sustainable planet wants us to be doing. The annual report produced by the World Economic Forum (WEF) since 2006, The Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) made it clear that there is still a long way to go to achieve gender parity in access to resources and opportunities around the world.
But, the progress towards gender equality has been made and the great leap forward appallingly achieved. Chinese women, for example, have attained major achievements in the new era, contributing their strengths with great enthusiasm, creating a better life through action and hard work, according to the document titled “China’s Achievements in Women’s Well-Rounded Development in the New Era” released in 2025. In terms of the key question: will women be the primary beneficiaries of technological innovation, China has taken real measures to implement the Global AI Governance Initiative put forth by President Xi Jinping, and released the AI Capacity-Building Action Plan for Good and for All, which all aim to promote common development of humanity.
Nothing in the progress is earned with ease. China’s GDP) was only 67.9 billion yuan in 1952 and GDP per capita 119 yuan. It means that the annual income of Chinese people could barely afford approximately 10 Macdonald’s “Big Mac”. Across the seventy-six years of arduous efforts, China has achieved spectacular growth in many fronts and the beneficiaries of gains of modernization are the Chinese people, including Chinese women for sure.
Equally important, the willingness to work with the international community, and share modernization’s benefits with the world plays always an important role in China’s path to modernization. It is based on the belief that a just cause should be pursued for common good (Tiaxia Weigong in Chinese pinyin), which is rooted in the traditional Chinese values. China priorities cooperation with the developing countries. By adhering to a people-centered approach, China unites the developing countries to explore path to modernization that suits itself and the ways of win-win development. The Chinese Story in Global Order surveyed and analyzed the world’s perception of Chinese modernization. It comes to a conclusion that the majority of people in developing countries believe China is a positive external influence, and wish to learn from China’s experiences for future development. Herein, gender equality and the “positive” are closely interlinked, with economic cooperation often leading to the reduction in poverty rates, and more access to opportunities. In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the Conference became a milestone in the global pursuit of gender equality. On the occasion of its 30th anniversary, and as a follow-up to President Xi Jinping’s proposal, China will China will soon hold the global summit of women in Beijing on the upcoming September 13-14. Therefore, SHE, stand tall, shine brightly, and remember: you are the SHE worth being drawn to.
In recent years, the world is edging towards the unimaginable—a powder keg that risks engulfing the international order. Global power structures have shifted, longstanding moral reasoning have been questioned, and new challenges have emerged on the international stage. There is an urgent need to analyze how these changes will affect the future of our world, in particular, a world where leaves no one behind. There are many questions confronting the whole world like What are the drivers behind the transformation of the international order? How are issues like technological innovation, climate change, and shifting geopolitical interests influencing the traditional balance of power? How should the world approach these challenges? What roles will we human beings play in shaping the world’s future?
To help the world find out solutions to the challenges unlike any we have ever seen, new ideas are need to develop and more alternative should be explored. In so doing, it is more important than ever to unite and stand together to bridge the large divides that the world faces. So tell those SHE beloved everything SHE needs them to know: how deeply grateful SHE is for this wonderful world we human beings built together and shared together, how sad HER soul feels at the absence, and how ready SHE is to forge ahead positively into this new chapter of history, and the future we all need——It is “the way of Heaven moves in ceaseless motion, therefore all things come into being. Always have been. Always will be” (Zhangzi, Chinese philosopher, 369-286 B. C.).
Liu Chen, professor of International Development, Intercultural Studies, author of The Chinese Story in Global Order. Participant by invitation in the Global Summit of Women in Beijing 2025.
