China will work to give women bigger role as the world strives to protect its environment and seeks a path of sustainable development, Vice President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday.

China will continue its efforts to improve conditions for women and ensure them an equal footing with men, Xi told an international forum on women and sustainable development.

Xi said China will press ahead with its legislative endeavors and resort to judicial, educational and economic means to guarantee women enjoy opportunities and rights.

Home to the world's largest population of women, China will be persistent in taking economic development as its central task, while accelerating its pace to build an energy-saving and environmental-friendly society and promoting social fairness and justice to tackle development imbalances, according to Xi.

China has made notable progress in environmental protection and sustainable development, Xi said.

By taking concrete actions, the country has made positive contributions in saving energy and natural resources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting human ecological environment, Xi said.

Between 1992 and 2010, total energy resources China had saved was equivalent to 1.3 billion tonnes of standard coal, according to Xi.

In the 2006-2010 period, China's energy consumption per unit of GDP fell by 19.1 percent accumulatively.