A Chinese envoy on Monday, which coincides with the International Women's Day, told the world that women in China truly "hold up half the sky."

"Women hold up half the sky. It is so true in China," Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said in his message for the international day.

"In pandemic response, women are on the front lines. More than 40,000 health workers from across China rushed to Hubei Province, and two-thirds of them were women," said the ambassador.

"In poverty eradication, women are not only the beneficiaries but also the contributors. Women account for about half of the rural poor out of poverty. Five out of the 10 national models of poverty eradication are women," he added.

Speaking about UN peacekeeping, the envoy said that more than 1,000 Chinese women have served as the Blue Helmets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Mali, Haiti and other field missions.

"Women are also playing key roles in China's political life. We are glad to see more women delegates from all ethnic groups in the National People's Congress and People's Political Consultative Conference," said Zhang.

The theme of this year's International Women's Day is "Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world." The theme celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.