The 13th National Women's Congress opened on Monday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, with about 1,800 delegates, and 90 specially invited representatives from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, attending the event. The congress commenced with a draft amendment to the constitution of the All-China Women's Federation being distributed among the delegates for deliberation.

Chinese women have made tremendous contributions to the socioeconomic development of the country, especially since the 12th National Women's Congress in 2018. The National Women's Congress, which convenes every five years, is the highest organ of women's federations in China. There are about 685,000 women's federations across the country, according to the ACWF.

The nation recognizes women's perseverance and their hard work in eradicating absolute poverty. It also recognizes their pursuit of excellence in the field of science and technology, their bravery in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, their important role in family and community, their commitment to help maintain law and order, and their outstanding performance in sports.

Women's pivotal role in society has been fully demonstrated in women's development.

Hopefully, women across the country will continue to fulfill their responsibilities on the way to achieving other socioeconomic goals. For that, women's federations at all levels have to follow the socialist development path, and pool their strengths and wisdom to fulfill the cause of the Communist Party of China and the country, and always uphold the Party's comprehensive leadership.

Representing and safeguarding the rights of women, promoting gender equality, and ensuring the comprehensive development of women are the fundamental functions of women's federations.

However, the federations should also take measures to ensure women and children get better legal protection, make rights protection an integral part of their work, and regularly visit the grassroots to find out the people's problems and, with the help of the authorities, try to solve the practical problems.