File photo: Xinhua
BEIJING, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's armed forces have sent over 40,000 peacekeepers to 25 United Nations peacekeeping missions over the past 30 years, says a white paper released by the State Council Information Office Friday.
The peacekeepers have faithfully performed their duties and made a positive contribution to world peace and common development, according to the white paper titled "China's Armed Forces: 30 Years of UN Peacekeeping Operations."
Serving on the UN missions for world peace, China's armed forces have become a key force in UN peacekeeping operations over the past three decades, says the document.
Chinese peacekeepers have left their footprints in over 20 countries and regions including Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus, South Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic.
They have made a tremendous contribution to facilitating the peaceful settlement of disputes, safeguarding regional security and stability, and promoting economic and social development in host nations, the document says.
Important progress has been made over the past five years, the paper notes, saying that China has set up a peacekeeping standby force, sent more enabler troops to UN peacekeeping operations, helped train foreign peacekeepers, provided military aid gratis to the African Union, deployed its first peacekeeping helicopter unit for UN peacekeeping operations, and established a China-UN Peace and Development Fund to support the UN efforts for peace and advance multilateral cooperation.
Far from home, Chinese military peacekeepers have actively facilitated humanitarian assistance and participated extensively in post-conflict reconstruction, making concrete efforts to bring peace and hope to war-afflicted peoples, the white paper says.
On Sept. 28, 2015, President Xi Jinping addressed the Leaders' Summit on Peacekeeping at UN headquarters and announced six measures that China would take to support UN peacekeeping.
The Chinese government and armed forces have faithfully implemented the decisions and directions of President Xi Jinping, and taken concrete steps to honor their promises, according to the white paper titled "China's Armed Forces: 30 Years of UN Peacekeeping Operations."
