China has contributed more UN peacekeepers than any of the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council since the country began to participate in UN peacekeeping operations in 1990, according to Xiong Guangkai, chairman of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies

Over the years China has sent 5,915 military personnel to participate in 16 UN peacekeeping operations, said Xiong in an interview with Study Times.

Eight Chinese peacekeepers have lost their lives and several dozens have been injured wounded. In December China had 1,666 peacekeeping personnel serving in nine UN missions under the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Statistics from the UN department show that in December China was twelfth on the list of contributors of peacekeepers, just after Senegal and France which had 1,988 peacekeepers working on UN missions. The largest contributors of peacekeepers were Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indian each of which had more than 9,000 personnel in the field in December. The United Kingdom was 40th on the list and the United States was 43rd.

Xiong said, China is actively fulfilling its obligation as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Outside of UN peacekeeping missions, China's international rescue teams have contributed to disaster relief operations after the Indian Ocean tsunami and the earthquakes in Pakistan and Indonesia.

Source: Xinhua