Abstract

China's expanded involvement in post-Cold War United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations coincided with Beijing's efforts in the early 2000s to expand its economic and diplomatic influence globally through trade and diplomatic links. Towards the mid-2000s, China was involved in all seven UN peacekeeping operations on the African continent. At the same time, Beijing's views on peacekeeping have consistently been premised on state sovereignty and the associated principle of non-intervention and noninterference in the affairs of other states. However, as China's strategic and material interests have become more integrated with the African continent, Beijing has been compelled more and more to consider its national (economic) interests and to protect those interests. Consequently, China's growing involvement in peacekeeping has evolved and become increasingly more difficult to reconcile with the country's historical commitment to noninterventionism, as specifically evident in recent Chinese peacekeeping involvement in Mali and South Sudan. Furthermore, the sending of Chinese combat forces to Mali and South Sudan suggests that China has become more comfortable with UN combat operations under certain situations.

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