• Xi Jinping pledges $110 million for women's empowerment globally at a summit in Beijing.
• The funding includes $10 million directed to UN Women to support gender equality initiatives.
• Representatives from various countries convened to discuss women's roles in politics and governance.
• Despite advancements, China's lack of female representation in top roles has drawn criticism.
• Xis proposes joint actions to enhance women's development and protect their rights.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has made a significant commitment of $110 million aimed at enhancing women’s empowerment during the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women held in Beijing. This event commemorates the 30th anniversary of the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women that took place in 1995. During his keynote address, Xi called for an “inclusive and harmonious social environment” where women can thrive without discrimination, emphasizing that fostering women’s development is a shared responsibility of the global community, according to aa, trtglobal, and scmp.

As part of this commitment, Xi announced a $10 million donation to UN Women, alongside an allocation of $100 million from China's Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund, specifically for projects aimed at women's and girls' development. He highlighted the importance of empowering women through education, emphasizing their ability to contribute to national governance and social stability. This funding is meant to support areas like poverty reduction and healthcare, as well as innovative technologies to assist women, according to trtglobal, africanews, and scmp.

Leaders from several countries, including Iceland, Ghana, and Sri Lanka, attended the summit, reinforcing a global call for increased female representation in politics. Xi urged nations to broaden opportunities for women to participate in decision-making processes, asserting this is crucial for achieving genuine gender equality. However, despite these initiatives, critics point out that women's representation in China's top political echelons has notably declined, with no women currently serving on the Politburo, indicating a gap between rhetoric and reality, according to aa, africanews, and trtglobal.

Xi emphasized the need for structural changes to effectively support women in society, recalling that more than 600 million women worldwide face challenges related to conflicts and poverty. He advocated for a collaborative international effort to eliminate violence against women and create equal opportunities in governance. Despite the funding announcements, many activists remain skeptical about the actual implementation of these commitments as China's history shows persistent gender disparities in both political representation and social rights, according to africanews, scmp, and trtglobal.