China in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: Operational Types and Regions

　　Abstract : China is a firm supporter for United Nations Peacekeeping missions, and possesses an impressive participatory record as manifestation for its commitments. In recent years, China’s increasing involvement in peacekeeping missions has attracted the attention of the international community. In particular, the worldat large is concerned and wary about China’s intentions, especially when China has, since March 2004, become the largest contributor amongst members of the UN Security Council to the UN peacekeeping corps. By analyzing the various types of peacekeeping missions that China has contributed, and the spread of geographical regions of these missions, this article seeks to alleviate such concerns. China has adopted a sweeping approach to UN peacekeeping missions: it has participated mostly in “comprehensive” missions, none in “preventive deployment”, and has remained cautious about participating in “ceasefire monitoring and disengagement of combatants”; in terms of personnel composition, China has overwhelmingly favored dispatching military observers over other forms of participation; while Africa remains the focus for China’s peacekeeping activities, it is also important to note that China has contributed to various peacekeeping operations across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and America.