China to commit 8,000 troops, $1bln for UN global peace effort

Chinese President Xi Jinping promised the United Nations General Assembly to provide the organization’s peacekeeping standby force with an additional 8,000 troops, alongside the establishment of a $1 billion “peace and development” fund.

70th session of UN General Assembly: LIVE UPDATES

8,000 Chinese troops will join United Nations peacekeeping force, President Xi Jinping told the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. That could make Beijing one of the top players in UN peacekeeping efforts.

“China will join the new UN peacekeeping capability readiness system, and has thus decided to take the lead in setting up a permanent peacekeeping police squad,” Xi said.

In his address, Xi also said that China is set to establish a ten year, $1 billion Peace and Development Fund, aimed at supporting the UN’s work.

Some financial aid will also go to the African Union, as China has promised to provide it with $100 million in military assistance in the next five years. The support is meant for the establishment of an African standby force, and an actual boost of its crisis response ability, according to Xi.

The statement was made at the general debate of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York. In his speech, the president also reminded of the lessons of the Second World War, saying that “history is mirror,” and the interconnection of different countries and a common future makes it necessary to abandon “I win you lose” or “winner takes all” mentality in the context of global affairs.

“We should renew our commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN charter, build a new type of international relations featuring ‘win-win’ cooperation, and create a community of shared future for mankind,” Xi said.

Currently, the UN has 16 missions with over 120,000 peace keepers deployed all over the world. Their funding costs over $8 billion per year, with nearly a third of the sum provided by the US.