BEIJING: As the People’s Liberation Army celebrates its 97th anniversary, its naval hospital ship Peace Ark is on its 10th Mission Harmony, providing free medical services to people in 13 countries across Asia and Africa. At the same time, nearly 2,000 Chinese military personnel are participating in United Nations peacekeeping missions worldwide.
Nearly a century after its founding, the PLA has grown stronger than ever. As Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said in his report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC in 2022, the PLA “has the confidence and capability to make greater contributions to world peace and development”.
Embarking on missions for peace has always been a distinct feature of the Chinese military. At the celebration of the PLA’s 90th anniversary in 2017, Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the nation’s military will continue to engage in international military exchanges and cooperation, jointly addressing global security challenges and actively fulfilling responsibilities and obligations commensurate with China’s international status, thereby contributing to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
At a reception in Beijing on Wednesday to celebrate the anniversary, which fell on Thursday, Defense Minister Dong Jun said that the Chinese military is willing to engage in pragmatic and friendly cooperation with the armed forces of other nations, fostering a security framework characterized by fairness, justice and joint construction and sharing, and creating a world of lasting peace and universal security.
According to the Defense Ministry, since China first sent five military observers to the UN Truce Supervision Organization in 1990, the Chinese military has dispatched over 50,000 personnel to participate in UN peacekeeping operations in more than 20 countries and regions.
Currently, China is the second-largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget and the top contributor of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, with nearly 2,000 Chinese troops serving in six peacekeeping missions.
Zhao Xiaozhuo, a retired PLA senior colonel, said that engaging in UN peacekeeping missions is an important way for the Chinese military to maintain world peace.
“Chinese peacekeepers are integrated into the UN peacekeeping system and operate under UN command,” said Zhao, who served in the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2001 to 2002.
Zhao also noted that China is one of the few countries able to effectively carry out peacekeeping missions, thanks to its strong and comprehensive capabilities. “Chinese peacekeeping forces undertake a significant amount of frontline work, mainly in security, engineering, transportation and medical units. Therefore, they also contribute to local development by improving infrastructure and medical conditions,” he said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
