Chines Vice-Premier Liu Yandong speaks in Washington on Tuesday morning at the joint opening ceremony for the seventh China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) and the sixth China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE). CHEN WEIHUA/CHINA DAILY

WASHINGTON - Chinese-Vice Premier Liu Yandong on Tuesday called for stepping up exchanges between women in China and the United States.

Liu, t he woman who holds the highest government position in China, made the remark at the closing ceremony of the Seventh China-US Women's Leadership Exchange and Dialogue (WLED), part of the ongoing Sixth China-US High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE), held from Tuesday to Wednesday in the US capital.

The vice-premier lauded the WLED's role in promoting gender equality and women's development in both nations. As a key part of the CPE, the WLED has helped women from the two sides achieve fruitful results in a wide range of areas such as career choices, science and technology, education and health, through exchange and dialogue.

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, reached at the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing 20 years ago, still serves as a guiding document for global women development and progress, she added.

Since then the Chinese government has honored its commitments on women's cause and made great progress in the areas of gender equality, legal protection of women's rights and women's participation in economy, Liu said.

During China's pursuit of a well-off society by 2020, the Chinese government will further promote gender equality, encourage hundreds of millions of women to take a more powerful role in the cause of national rejuvenation, said the vice premier.