China concludes 14-year peacekeeping operations in Liberia

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By Xie Yahong from People’s Daily

The fifth Chinese peacekeeping police team to Liberia withdrew from the peacekeeping area on Wednesday 28 February this year after finishing their missions, marking the end of China’s 14-year peacekeeping operations in Liberia.

The Chinese police force was presented with the National Award certificate of Liberia by the country’s President George Weah, who also expressed gratitude to the Chinese peacekeepers.

According to United Nations (UN) resolutions, the team shall withdraw from the area as the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) will end its term before March 30, 2018.

China has contributed the most peacekeepers among all permanent members of the UN Security Council. It has sent over 36,000 peacekeepers for 24 UN operations after it was first involved in such missions in 1990. As of now, 2,500 Chinese soldiers are still on peacekeeping fronts.

China remains the second largest contributor regarding financial support on UN peacekeeping undertakings following the US. Its expenditures account for 10.2 percent of the UN’s budget on peacekeeping between 2016 and 2018.

Chinese President Xi Jinping declared that China would join the new UN peacekeeping capability readiness system by taking the lead to set up a permanent peacekeeping police squad and building a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops, at the Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping at the UN headquarters in September 2015.

The Chinese peacekeeping standby force registered at UN in September 2017. In the following month, the People’s Liberation Army ground force started to set up 19 peacekeeping standby troops of 6 types, including infantry battalions, peacekeeping sapper units, transportation detachments, guard teams, quick response units and helicopter units.

Pic:Liberian President George Weah (second from left) shakes hands with a member of the fifth Chinese peacekeeping police team in Monrovia, capital of Liberia. (Photo by Zhao Xiaoxin from People’s Daily)