UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Friday showcased China's achievements in gender equality, saying the status of women in China has undergone fundamental changes.

The Chinese government has always attached great importance to gender equality, said Wu Haitao, charge d'affaires of China's permanent mission to the United Nations.

In the past seven decades since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese government has taken steps to ensure that women can, on an equal footing, exercise their democratic rights in accordance with the law, participate in socio-economic development, enjoy dividends of the reform and development, he told a UN session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

"The status of women in China has undergone fundamental changes."

Wu said China has developed a body of law based on the Constitution that consists of more than 100 acts and regulations to safeguard women's rights and interests.

Gender disparity has been essentially eliminated in compulsory education and over 50 percent of college students are female, said Wu.

Support for women's employment and entrepreneurship has been strengthened with huge amounts of cumulative secured loans granted for women entrepreneurship, benefiting millions of women. Gender-based discrimination in the recruitment process is prohibited, he said.

The equality of women's health care continues to improve. The maternal mortality rate has dropped to 19.6 per 100,000, said Wu.

Support for women in poverty has been strengthened, as half of those out of poverty were female, he said.

Social protection has scaled up substantially for women in urban and rural areas, said Wu.

The Belt and Road Initiative has actively contributed to the interconnectivity of countries, expanded space for global economic growth, and created great opportunities for people around the world, he said.

China has actively supported women in countries along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative in capacity building by providing assistance in various forms. China stands ready to strengthen cooperation with sisters around the world to achieve common development, he said.