Some of the transport vehicles and armoured mine sweepers used in peacekeeping mission areas (Photo/Taddeo Bwambale)

Yanxi Lake Area in Huairou district offers a different view of Beijing, far from the bustle of traffic. Lush green spaces and gentle rolling hills in the distance make this area a perfect get away.

The quiet suburb is the place where Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) peacekeeping forces undergo extensive training before they are deployed to missions abroad.

The peacekeeping center has modern indoor training facilities including a first aid training room, a mine identification room, two multi-media language labs and a satelite communication room.

Outside, the centre has a peacekeeping contingent camp, an observation post, a simulated village scene, a simulated mine field, and a number of special terrain driving tracks.

Apart from training troops for missions abroad, the Peacekeeping Center hosts international exchanges with partners and conducts academic research on peacekeeping.

Senior Colonel Zhou Zhe, the deputy director of the peacekeeping center told visiting journalists from Africa and Asia during a tour of the facility on Monday, Aug. 22, that the facility and its programs have been certified by the UN.

Zhou said China will live up to its commitments to global peacekeeping operations as the country assumes more responsibilities on the international stage.

“China is committed as a major power to global peace and stability through peacekeeping efforts, together with our partners,” Zhou said at a briefing.

China is currently the largest troop contributor among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Chinese peacekeepers are currently deployed in six missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Lebanon, Sudan, Mali and South Sudan, with 15 units comprising of 2,403 troops.

According to Zhe, discipline and commitment to protect civilian lives rank high among priorities of Chinese peacekeepers deployed to mission areas.

Journey into peacekeeping

China’s peacekeeping journey started in April 1990 when the country deployed five UN military observers to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization.

Later in April 1992, China sent a military engineering unit to the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia and in 2015, its first-ever infantry battalion to South Sudan.

Records show that China has participated in 24 UN peacekeeping operations and deployed a total number of 33,000 military peacekeepers since 1990.

Apart from ground troops, China presently has 93 military observers and staff officers operating in 9 missions and at the UN headquarters.

And besides troops and personnel, China is now the second biggest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget, providing $863 million in 2016.

Senior Colonel Zhou Zhe interacting with journalists from Africa and Asia

Daring tasks

From excavating unexploded mines and foot patrol in volatile areas, the peacekeepers often have to endure harrowing circumstances in their fields of operation.

Since 1990, China has lost 13 military personnel and four police personnel, with the most recent attacks on July 10 that claimed the lives of 22-year-old Li Lei and Sergeant Yang Shupeng in Mali.

In spite of the threats, Chinese peacekeepers have constructed and repaired 13,000km of road, disposed of 9,400 mines and explosives, transported 1,200,000 tons of supplies, treated 160,000 patients and conducted 1,500 mobile patrols in their mission areas, according to a report.

In Sept. 2015, President Xi Jinping pledged that China will join the new UN Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System and build a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops.

China has also promised to send its first peacekeeping helicopter squad to UN peacekeeping operations in Africa and set up a permanent peacekeeping police squad.

Over the next five years, China plans to train 2,000 international peacekeepers and carry out 10 mine clearance assistance programs which will include the provision of training and equipment.

The country will also provide US$100 million military aid to the African Union to support the building of the African Standby Force and the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crisis. 

Accomodation for trainee peacekeepers are designed to simulate actual place of abode in mission areas