Chinese state media recently reported that an exhibition at the UN headquarters themed on Beijing’s contribution to international peacekeeping operations was a big draw.
An article posted on the Chinese Defence Ministry’s website cited laudatory comments by visiting UN officials from the international peacekeeping department about the professional acumen of the Chinese ‘blue helmets’. It quoted remarks by Atul Khare, the Undersecretary of Field Support, who said that Beijing shoulders three “glorious responsibilities”— those of a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the 10th largest contributor of uniformed personnel, and the second-largest funder of global peacekeeping.
Chinese officials say that Beijing has raised its share of the UN peacekeeping budget from 10.24% to a hefty 15.22%.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying also pitched in with her observations on February 13 that the exhibition, which was titled “Chinese People’s Liberation Army: A Force for World Peace,” was showcasing the country’s “outstanding contributions” in fulfilling its international obligations. She also pointed to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s statement at the UN Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping nearly four years ago, which had set in motion China’s heightened activism in the UN peacekeeping operations.
8,000-strong force
During his speech, Mr. Xi had pledged setting up an 8,000-strong Chinese standby force dedicated to UN peacekeeping. It currently consists of infantry units and field hospitals, backed by engineering and transport units, to ensure a quick and robust Chinese presence in global trouble spots. He had also announced a new $1 billion China-UN peace and development fund that would be channelled for peacekeeping operations over 10 years.
Specifically focussing on Africa, the Chinese leader had declared that in the next five years, Beijing would stream $100 million for establishing a African standby force, which could swiftly respond to crises.
At the exhibition, Mr. Khare recounted that China has currently deployed 2,508 uniformed personnel, including 70 women, in eight of the UN’s current peacekeeping missions. In Africa, Chinese peacekeepers are currently deployed in Mali, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic and Darfur. China’s peacekeeping profile is only expected grow in the future, in tune with the Donald Trump administration’s visible antipathy and steady pull back from multilateralism.
But as its heft in the peacekeeping arena grows, China is also beginning to assert its intent to rewrite the rules that define the role and conduct of the blue helmets. Rejecting the politics of “regime change” pursued by leading Western nations, the Chinese are demanding that the UN peacekeepers strictly abide by a pledge not to interfere in the internal affairs of a host country.
Analysts also say that the peacekeeping operations could be impacted by the divergent perceptions of human rights between China and Western democracies.
China’s perception of human rights is based on collective rights that prioritise the improvement of material conditions and economic development of the people first. That clashes with the Western view of human rights based on an individual’s civic and political rights. The divergence could come into play, especially in post-conflict situations, when new state structures and political systems that need to emerge are debated by the two camps.