Chinese peacekeepers in Wau, South Sudan hold a flag raising ceremony on Oct. 1, 2015, the National Day of the People's Republic of China. [Photo: Xinhua]

China is the second largest financial contributor to United Nations (UN) peacekeeping, after the United States of America, according to the Under-Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations, Herve Ladsous.

Ladsous said China will contribute 10.2 percent of the peacekeeping budget for the UN from the year 2016 to 2018.

He noted that China is also the largest troop contributor among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The UN official will pay a four-day visit to China in early June at the invitation of the Chinese government to unveil a UN diplomats training course.

Ladsous said that also on his agenda is the implementation of China's pledge made in last September to build a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops.

"Chinese units are very well-equipped and are well-trained," he said, adding that Chinese peacekeepers are well prepared and have a good sense of discipline.

Ladsous said in the future, the UN will work with China on peacekeeping training and delivering modern equipment to peacekeeping operations.

He added that UN peacekeeping missions are faced with multiple challenges: the weak political process in some countries makes the level of threat very high for peacekeepers, some peacekeepers lack sufficient equipment or do not receive appropriate training, and the discipline of some peacekeepers can be lacking, particularly those involved in sexual abuse or exploitation cases.

On peacekeeping reform, Ladsous said a general philosophy is to deploy peacekeeping operations in support of a political solution, to improve their performance, and to improve partnerships with troop-contributing countries as well as host countries.

According to the UN, China currently has over 3,000 peacekeepers serving in countries such as South Sudan, Lebanon, and Mali.

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