COLOMBO); Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya has hailed China’s strong stance on gender equality, describing President Xi Jinping’s pledges as “sincere, significant, and timely” during a high-level international gathering focused on advancing women’s rights.
Amarasuriya, who was in Beijing for the global summit of women which took place from Monday to Tuesday, made the remarks in an interview with the China Media Group.
Amarasuriya emphasized the importance of global leadership in promoting gender equality, noting that China’s commitments went beyond rhetoric.
“President Xi was very sincere in what he said and very strong in his commitments,” she said. “He also made very concrete proposals and also pledged China’s financing of those important initiatives, which is also very critical, especially for agencies like UN Women, which has seen some other countries withdraw funding from those initiatives.”
The Prime Minister highlighted that Xi’s role as a male leader advocating for gender equality sends a powerful message worldwide.
She also drew attention to the ideological roots of gender equality within socialist thought, stating, “Socialist ideology has always stood for women’s rights and for gender equality. This is something that is very much a part of socialist thinking and Marxist thinking, so socialist countries progressed a lot further than many other countries when it came to protecting and promoting women’s rights and gender equality.”
Amarasuriya described her participation in the forum as a privilege, underscoring the significance of China’s leadership at a time when global efforts to advance women’s rights face mounting
