China will continue to support United Nations peacekeeping operations by being an active contributor to different missions, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday while attending the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.

Wang made the remarks at a high-level meeting on UN peacekeeping, pointing out that the UN peacekeeping should keep pace with the changing times.

“When planning peacekeeping missions, the Security Council needs to set realistic and feasible goals with clearly defined priority tasks,” said the foreign minister.

“Peacekeeping operations should be conducted in line with the situation on the ground,” said Wang adding that the planning should have a timely assessment of how a mandate is implemented and corresponding adjustments should be made in light of changing circumstances.

China, a developing country as it is, is now the sixth largest contributor of UN peacekeeping funding among all member states, and the largest among developing countries. It's also the largest contributor of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, which include the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia and France.

So far China has sent over 25,000 peacekeepers to UN peacekeeping missions, including more than 2,100 Chinese peacekeepers stationed in conflict zones.

Wang said that China will give continued, strong support to UN peacekeeping operations and will expand its involvement. China will send a 700-strong infantry battalion to the UN Mission in South Sudan, said Wang adding that it will be the first Chinese infantry battalion to participate in a peacekeeping mission.

Wang said China is considering sending helicopters to the UN Peacekeeping Operation and is ready to send more civilian policemen, including forensic experts and criminal detectives, to peacekeeping operations.

China will continue to support, to the extent of its ability, efforts to strengthen peacekeeping capacity building of African countries, including the establishment of African Capacity for Immediate Response to Crises, said Wang.

The foreign minister also called on more countries with the proper capabilities and conditions to contribute troops and equipment to peacekeeping operations in order to address the serious shortage of peacekeeping resources.

“The UN needs to develop unified standards for the organization, training and supervision of peacekeepers, and step up training of peacekeepers at all levels to prepare them for various regional conflicts,” said Wang.