BEIJING - China will continue to fulfill its obligations as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and provide necessary assistance to underdeveloped nations, State Councilor Liu Yandong said Tuesday.

China will deepen its cooperation with the UN Children's Fund and join the global community in working to ensure that all children have equal rights and opportunities, Liu said at celebrations held to mark the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the convention.

Over the past 20 years, Chinese children have gotten healthier, with their rights to education fully ensured and their environment for growth increasingly optimized, Liu said.

Liu acknowledged that China still encounters many difficulties and challenges in promoting development for the country's 310 million citizens under age 18.

She said China is formulating a blueprint for children's development in the next 10 years in a bid to alleviate and overcome problems that hamper children's development.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which became effective in 1990, is a human rights treaty that details child-specific needs and rights.