APEC forum in Shanghai highlights women's role in shared prosperity

The APEC Women and the Economy Forum (WEF) concluded in Shanghai on Saturday.

As the first ministerial-level APEC gathering this year, the WEF was held under the theme of "Empowering Women for Shared Prosperity in the Asia-Pacific."

During the two-day forum, ministers and high-level representatives from 21 economies held high-level dialogues focusing on women's participation in digital transformation, entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as on fostering an enabling environment for women's flourishing.

This forum not only provided a platform for dialogue, but also offered participants a window into China's efforts to advance women's development and the contributions of Chinese women across different sectors.

Women shaping China's future 

China has always been a firm supporter of female empowerment, discovering and uplifting female talents whose dedication and achievements have both boosted personal success and advanced the country's development and prosperity.

For example, Zhang Yuhua, awarded an honor for outstanding female role models as a prominent scientist at the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, has played a central role in achieving multiple breakthroughs in China's relevant projects.

From the first-ever lunar far-side sampling to solving the world-class challenge of Mars landing and braking technology, her achievements led to senior roles including deputy commander-in-chief of the Chang'e-5 lunar probe system and deputy commander of the Tianwen-1 Mars mission.

"The harder we work, the more we gain, both for ourselves and for our country," Zhang said.

Women leaders and pioneers of their fields can be found across a wide range of sectors in China. In agricultural research, Zheng Wenjing has led her team to tackle critical challenges such as molecular breeding of japonica rice resistant to rice blast. Han Xiqiu, China's first female chief scientist of ocean scientific expeditions, led a team to tap the resource potential of the deep sea, a field once dominated by men. Wang Yingjun, a professor of material with the South China University of Technology, expanded her lab from one with a dozen square meters in the 1980s to a national engineering center with over 20,000 square meters.

Empowering women for shared prosperity

As delegates of the WEF noted, women's economic participation is no longer a social issue – it's a growth strategy. Safeguarding women's prosperity is therefore also strengthening a society's momentum for development.

The city that hosted the WEF 2026, Shanghai is itself exemplary in fostering an enabling environment for the success of women.

Shanghai has long played an important role in advancing gender equality in China. In 1923, Shanghai witnessed the birth of the first resolution on women's movement by the Communist Party of China (CPC). The first women's magazine founded by CPC, Women's Voice, was also established in this city.

Since entering the new era, women across the city have devoted themselves to high-quality development, demonstrating their irreplaceable role as "half the sky."

In 2022, Shanghai adopted "Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests," which establishes the legal framework for safeguarding women's rights and interests and coordinates relevant departments to implement policies that ensure its realization.

Shared responsibility for women's flourishing

During the APEC forum in the past couple of days, multiple speakers echoed China's proposal, stressing the need to deliver more tangible solutions to confront the challenges, as well as showcasing opportunities that facilitate women's participation in the economy.

"The international community has a shared responsibility to advance the cause of women," said Shen Yiqin, State Councilor of China and President of the All-China Women's Federation, in her opening remarks.

"We need to enable women's economic empowerment through innovation and proactively address the imbalance and inadequacy of women's development in the region," she said, urging economies to strengthen institutions and legal frameworks supporting women's access to education, healthcare, employment and social protection.

Alice Mak Mei-kuen, secretary for home and youth affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, shared economic opportunities in Hong Kong that support women's economic participation, such as the Women Empowerment Fund and the complementing "She Inspires" Mentorship Program, which equip women with skills, investment funding, professional network and a variety of other resources that enhance their capabilities to achieve success.

As the forum draws to an end, it is expected to release the APEC Shanghai Initiative on Women's Economic Empowerment, offering new proposals and practical pathways for advancing women's development across the region.