BEIJING — UN Women, the United Nations' entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women, on Aug 5 held a virtual ministerial roundtable meeting on ensuring progress toward gender equality amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese women affairs official Huang Xiaowei delivered a keynote speech at the meeting.

Huang, vice chairperson of the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council and first member of the secretariat of the All-China Women's Federation, shared China's achievements and experience in coordinating epidemic control and economic and social development.

In the face of COVID-19, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government have put the people and lives above everything else, and mobilized the whole country to fight the novel coronavirus, Huang said in the speech.

Huang introduced China's efforts in protecting the lives and health of women and children amid the epidemic and the roles Chinese women and women's federations have played in COVID-19 response and recovery.

Huang called for more global solidarity against the virus, as well as efforts to achieve gender equality and women's well-rounded development.

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka called for more attention to women's contributions to COVID-19 response and recovery, as well as better global cooperation to build a more inclusive and equal world.

Representatives from 11 countries including China, Egypt and Uganda spoke at the roundtable, which was attended by nearly 90 people online.