Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Since 1990, when China's armed forces first joined the UN's peacekeeping missions, the country has steadily supported the UN's central role and its core position in global security governance. The country has also been firmly committed to the path of peaceful development. 

Nowadays, global conflicts have become more complex, with traditional and non-traditional security risks intertwined. The UN's peacekeeping system faces the dual challenges of efficiency and trust, which require an upgrading of its member states' roles in its peacekeeping mission. 

On Tuesday, during his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Berlin while attending the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial 2025, China's Minister of National Defense Dong Jun said China will announce new peacekeeping commitments, support the reform and transformation of UN peacekeeping efforts, and remain a steadfast supporter and constructive force in UN peacekeeping operations. This highlights China's long-standing support for the UN and its constructive role as  a committed peacekeeping state.

Currently, China is the second-largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget and the top contributor of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. This stands in contrast to the US, which is reportedly mulling eliminating funding for UN peacekeeping missions citing failures by operations in Mali, Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

As the largest developing country, China understands the importance of peace to developing countries, hence, it is dedicated to safeguarding world peace. The China-proposed Global Security Initiative demonstrates China's sense of responsibility for maintaining world peace and its firm resolve to defend global security. China's new commitment and its support for the reform and transformation of UN peacekeeping efforts are both a continuation of its responsibility as a major power and a proactive response to the inadequate global security governance.

China's steadily growing military strength also provides a strong foundation for its peacekeeping contribution under the multilateral framework of the UN. Over the past 35 years of the Chinese military's participation in UN peacekeeping operations, the composition of Chinese peacekeeping forces has expanded from single-service units to multiple military forces. Military modernization not only ensures China's ability to fulfill its obligations, but also directly responds to the call for UN peacekeeping to be fit for purpose as the nature of conflict evolves alongside new weapons technology.

The Chinese military's participation in UN peacekeeping operations not only reflects China's firm commitment to maintaining world peace, but it is also a direct reflection of China's growing military strength and its ability to provide more public security products to the international community. This serves as a model of China's peaceful use of its military strength. Meanwhile, China consistently advocates for political solutions to conflicts. This aligns with the preventive diplomacy the UN has been advocating, and fits with China's non-interference principle.

China's new commitment to UN peacekeeping and its support for reforms showcase the collective demand of developing countries for new global governance. They demonstrate China's capabilities and vision.