Helping to keep the peace

Updated: 2014-10-02 07:33

By Zhao Lei(China Daily USA)

People's Liberation Army troops do their part in peacekeeping missions worldwide, Zhao Lei reports.

The People's Liberation Army, which regards safeguarding world peace and promoting common prosperity as important missions, has been actively undertaking peacekeeping tasks, disaster relief as well as anti-terrorist operations. Currently, there are more than 1,500 Chinese officers and soldiers who comprise 10 corps that are serving United Nations peacekeeping missions in several conflict-hit nations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Mali. Over the past two decades, Chinese peacekeepers, most of them medical personnel and engineers, laid 7,300 kilometers of roads, built more than 200 bridges, treated nearly 28,000 sick people and conducted some 230 surgeries. A total of 16 Chinese servicemen died performing their duties during the overseas peacekeeping missions.

Troops on the hospital vessel He Ping Fang Zhou hold a national-flag raising ceremony at the Gulf of Aden on Sept 30, 2010. The vessel had just completed its seven-day service in Djibouti. Zha Chunming / Xinhua