This year is the 70th anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping operations. It's also the 28th year of China's participation. Last year the UN secretary-general called for reform of peace operations. China says it backs that proposal and wants to play a bigger role.
For nearly three decades, China has been actively participating in UN peacekeeping operations.
Since 1990, more than 38,000 troops and over 2,600 police have been dispatched, according to the latest statistics from the Chinese ministries of national defense and public security. And the country plans to do more.
Chinese peacekeepers leave Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, for South Sudan on a one-year mission, September 11, 2018. /VCG Photo
China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi gave a speech at a high-level UN meeting on the Action for Peacekeeping initiative at UN Headquarters in New York in September.
He said that China is a strong supporter and active participant in UN peacekeeping.
"China has fully implemented the major measures that President Xi Jinping announced at the UN peacekeeping summit in 2015. The 8,000-strong standby peacekeeping force and permanent squad are ready for operation," Wang said.
China now contributes 10 percent of the UN peacekeeping budget. That's up from about 3 percent five years ago.
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a UN meeting in New York, September 26, 2018. /VCG Photo
Sixteen of the 24 UN peacekeeping operations that China has taken part in have been in Africa. That makes China one of the largest contributors to UN peacekeeping operations on the continent.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping said in 2015, Africa has the biggest peacekeeping needs and in the long run, the international community and the UN should support African countries in increasing their own capacity in keeping peace and stability so that African issues can be addressed in an African way.
There are currently more than 2,500 Chinese peacekeepers involved in UN missions. Over 80 percent of them are in Africa. Their missions range from patrols and security to engineering and medical support.
A group of 130 Chinese peacekeepers arrive at Juba International Airport in South Sudan, April 8, 2015. /VCG Photo
Twenty-one Chinese peacekeepers have laid down their lives, including eight in Africa.
Last week 225 Chinese troops were awarded the UN peace medal in Sudan.
A Chinese peacekeeper said that he and his team members will work harder in their future tasks and make collective efforts to accomplish their missions to a high standard.
The efforts are more than that.
Over the past three years, China has trained more than 1,400 peacekeepers from dozens of countries. They will go back to their countries with a forged bond to help renew the collective efforts for UN peacekeeping operations in the years to come.