China as a peacekeeper—Past, present, and future

Over the last 30 years, the People’s Republic of China (China) has evolved from a skeptic to a champion of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping. During that same period, UN peacekeeping has greatly changed. This paper traces how China has reacted to the various practical and doctrinal innovations of UN peacekeeping, such as the turn to more robust peacekeeping, the protection of civilians, the responsibility to protect, the call for better force protection as outlined in the Cruz report, and, finally, the Action for Peacekeeping initiative. The paper then discusses possible future developments of China’s role in UN peacekeeping. Given the increasing weight of China within the UN, it is likely that China will gradually become more involved in shaping peacekeeping concepts. Early signs can be seen in its approach to the role of human rights in peacekeeping and in its emerging conceptual understanding of peacebuilding.