Since its founding in 1949, the All-China Women’s Federation has been actively engaged in international multilateral exchanges. In 1974 the All-China Women’s Federation began participating in activities under the United Nations system. In 1980 China became member of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), and since 1982 experts from the All-China Women’s Federation were elected time as member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) subsequently for five sessions.

The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women and the NGO Forum on Women  were held in Beijing in September 1995, and the All-China Women’s Federation was a member of China's Organizing Committee. This Conference was the largest ever held by United Nations , and also the first large-scale international conference ever hosted by China. Altogether 15,000 delegates from 189 countries and regions attended the Conference, and 31,000 delegates from thousands of non-governmental organizations from different countries and regions participated in the forum activities. The All-China Women’s Federation not only had its own members in the Chinese Government Delegation, actively took part in drafting and negotiating such important documents as the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action adopted by the Conference, but also fully participated in the preparation and meeting of NGO Forum on Women '95 .

Representatives of the All-China Women’s Federation have participated in a number of meetings in the United Nations system, such as the sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women and on Human Rights, UNICEF Executive Board meetings,  the World Conference on Human Rights, the International Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit for Social Development, and the Conference on Habitat. The All-China Women’s Federation plays an active role in international and regional activities concerning women and children issues and establishes contacts with influential international non-governmental organizations. Through these multilateral activities the All-China Women’s Federation has promoted Chinese women's interests in participating in international women's affairs, deepening their understanding of the international women's movement, strengthening opportunities for exchanges among women of other countries, and dramatically increasing Chinese women's voice on the international stage.

In July 1995 the All-China Women’s Federation obtained special status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In September 1996, the All-China Women’s Federation became a member of the Conference on Non-governmental Organizations in Consultative Status with the United Nations (CONGO) .