Helping more women find employment and re-employment will top China's six tasks in the next five years, said Gu Xiulian, vice-president of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), at the Chinese Women's Ninth National Congress that opened in Beijing earlier Friday.

More substantial efforts will be made to keep increasing women's working opportunities and posts, and better the distribution and variety of their job opportunities, said Gu, also vice-chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress.

A major method to that end is to guide and support excess rural women laborers into non-agricultural sectors or cities or towns, which would bring them more employment and development opportunities.

The country will also work very hard to sharply cut the number of women in dire need, said Gu.

Meanwhile, she acknowledged, ACWF will spare no effort to increase the number of Chinese women entering politics, to improve their education levels and to promote better health service for them.

The establishment of a legal system to protect the rights of women and children and social security for women are of vital importance, Gu said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2003)