Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday extended festive greetings and best wishes to the country's women of all ethnic groups and from all walks of life ahead of International Women's Day, which falls on March 8.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, sent the greetings when attending a joint group meeting at the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body.

"On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, I extend festive greetings and best wishes to all women deputies, political advisors and staff members attending the 'two sessions,' to women of all ethnic groups and from all walks of life across the country, to our women compatriots in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and the Taiwan region, and to overseas Chinese women. In the year ahead, we hope that women will better play their role as 'half the sky' and make even greater contributions to getting the 15th Five-Year Plan off to a good start," said Xi.

The "two sessions" are the annual meetings of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body, the National Committee of the CPPCC.

This year, the NPC and the CPPCC National Committee opened their annual sessions on Thursday and Wednesday, respectively.