BEIJING - By 2010, 87.1 percent of China's provincial regions had female vice governors, an increase from 64.5 percent in 2000, said Song Xiuyan, vice chairwoman of the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council, or China's Cabinet.

"China has made remarkable progress in terms of political participation by women," Song said at a press conference held on Tuesday.

Women are also represented in the leadership of 89.4 percent of the country's municipal governments, an increase from 65.1 percent in 2000, according to Song. The proportion of female leaders at the county level rose from 59.8 percent in 2000 to 86.2 percent in 2010.

At the central level, China has a single female state councilor, Liu Yandong, as well as three vice chairwomen of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and four vice chairwomen leading the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Song said.

"We still have a lot of work to do to raise social awareness and guarantee gender equality through legal means," Song said in response to a question about a lack of female representation at higher levels of government.

The Tuesday press conference was held to unveil the Outline for the Development of Chinese Children/Women (2011-2020), which was issued by the government on Monday.

The outline, issued every 10 years by the State Council, aims to boost children's physical and mental health and narrow the development gap between urban and rural women and children.