By Xue Lingqiao, Gong Weiwei, Diao Wei, Chen Tianhao and Wang Hao
(ECNS) -- "China is the second largest financial contributors to UN peacekeeping support in terms of contribution in personnel. It is critically important that China is really one of the major supporters to UN peacekeeping." Recently, during the high-end dialogue at the 12th Beijing Xiangshan Forum held in Beijing, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, praised China's contributions to UN peacekeeping operations.
2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, the 77th year of UN peacekeeping operations, the 35th anniversary of China's participation in UN peacekeeping operations, as well as the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Therefore, the important role of the United Nations in the post-war era and in the present day is one of the key focuses of this year's Beijing Xiangshan Forum.
Starting the dialogue, while discussing how the international community should draw lessons from history on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, Lacroix stated that the lessons of World War II and its tragic events have, to some extent, been summarized in the UN Charter. As stated in the UN Charter, the primary purpose of the United Nations is to fundamentally protect future generations from the scourge of war.
"It's about a very strict sort of legal provision regarding the use of force, only in case of self-defense or when authorized by the UN security council. So these are critical provision of that charter," Lacroix said.
Born in the aftermath of World War II, the United Nations embodies humanity's aspiration of never again engaging in war. Faced with the current situation of continuous conflicts and crises around the world, Lacroix called on all countries to resolve disputes through peaceful means.
"We live in a reality where we not only see more conflict in the world, but also the nature of conflict is evolving. There are drivers of conflict that are increasingly having an influence, the impact of climate change, transnational criminal activities, impact of global terrorism, the impact of digital technology," Lacroix said.
In this regard, he further emphasized that the international community needs to pool its collective strength to analyze and address the key challenges facing humanity today. The international community must clearly understand the evolution of conflicts and the key drivers behind them.
He pointed out that all countries should recognize that the only way to resolve conflicts is through collective actions. This is precisely the significance of the United Nations. The United Nations is an organization for multilateral collective action, and this nature is very important.
Regarding the positive impact of China's peacekeeping forces on UN peacekeeping operations, Lacroix stated that China is one of the major troop-contributing and funding countries for UN peacekeeping operations, and Chinese peacekeepers have made significant contributions to UN peacekeeping efforts.
Citing the example of China's assistance to the United Nations, particularly the UN Security Council, in facilitating the launch of the Group of Friends on Safety and Security of UN Peacekeepers, Lacroix mentioned that the various actions being implemented by the United Nations have received strong support from China, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations.
He also observed that, beyond their traditional peacekeeping roles, Chinese peacekeepers are now further advancing peacekeeping operations.
"In other missions, engineers from China working on building roles, providing infrastructure constructions. They are helping not only the peacekeepers to do their work, but also the community, the local communities by improving the roads and the bridges," he praised.
Additionally, Lacroix noted that China has provided numerous training courses and modules to other countries. In his view, training for UN peacekeepers is very important, as in today's rapidly evolving international environment, the skills peacekeepers possess must continuously develop.
To further elaborate on the multilateral nature of the United Nations, Lacroix pointed out that a core element of China's Global Governance Initiative is multilateralism.
He also expressed agreement with the recent views of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. On September 1, 2025, while speaking at the "Shanghai Cooperation Organization Plus" meeting held in North China's Tianjin, Guterres welcomed the Global Governance Initiative proposed by China, which is based on multilateralism and emphasizes the importance of maintaining the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law.
"I think there is not only compatibility, but convergence between what the UN sent for, and the Global Governance Initiative," Lacroix said.
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