China holds high-level UN peacekeeping training class

A peacekeeping training class for senior commanders jointly organized by China and the United Nations was held in the Ministry of National Defense on Sept. 20.

There were 19 medium and high-level officers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) who took part in this class.

This is the first time that China held a U.N. peacekeeping training class for senior commanders. All those military officers that took part in this class have experience in U.N. peacekeeping operations or in command posts and are proficient in English.

It was reported that instructors of the training class are mainly from the United Nations and all have played roles in high-level commanding posts, including military advisers to the U.N. Secretary-General or commanders of U.N. special missions.

After 20 years of peacekeeping practices, China has become one of the major forces in U.N. peacekeeping operations. It was China that dispatched the largest number of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and sent the greatest number of support contingents among all troop-contributing countries.

The U.N. peacekeeping training class will further advance exchanges and co-operations in peacekeeping training between China and UN and explore advanced peacekeeping training approaches that not only follow international practices but also have Chinese characteristics.

It will also help the PLA to improve the elementary, medium and advanced levels of its peacekeeping system and further enhance peacekeeping capacity of PLA to better contribute to the maintenance of world peace and security, said Zhang Li, deputy director of the Peacekeeping Office of the Ministry of National Defense.

By Li Mu, People's Daily Online