A foreign guest experiences livestreaming at the Silk Road E-commerce Pavilion during the second Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Nov. 24, 2023.(Xinhua/Liu Lingyi)

The fifth Belt and Road Women's Forum, focusing on women's development and cultural exchanges, opened Thursday in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province.

Themed "She Power: Jointly Building and Sharing a Beautiful Life," the forum attracted around 400 participants, including diplomatic envoys in China and business representatives. It runs through Friday.

The event includes a youth leadership forum and themed forums centering around women's exchanges and cooperation, sci-tech innovation and development, gender equality and cultural exchanges among Belt and Road participating countries.

According to He Dan, head of the China Population and Development Research Center, China has established a legal system that fully protects women's rights and interests, including more than 100 laws and regulations. The political and economic status of Chinese women has improved across the board, along with their education level, she added.

The forum highlights women's unique role in jointly building the Belt and Road, promotes women's comprehensive and sustainable development, strengthens people-to-people exchanges, and serves as a platform for female exchanges and communication, said Li Xikui, vice president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.