China likely to take bigger role in peacekeeping missions in West Africa
- Beijing has pledged to increase funding and troop numbers for UN operations in the Sahel
- The unstable region is also a strategic point for Beijing’s trade ambitions in the continent
Dai Bing, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, this week said Beijing would continue working with the international community for long-term peace in the Sahel. The region has been hit by violence and insecurity, including a coup in August that toppled the Malian leader.
Dai told a UN Security Council briefing on Monday that China would provide 300 million yuan (US$45.7 million) to the Joint Force of the Group of Five (G5) for the Sahel – a security and counterterrorism initiative covering Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.
He called on the Security Council to give priority to those G5 nations and provide more stable financial support to the joint force. Dai also said China supported efforts to find African solutions to African issues, and a greater role for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union in regional affairs.
China is the second largest contributor to the UN peacekeeping budget – which now stands at about US$6 billion a year – covering 15 per cent of its costs, according to the International Crisis Group. The United States contributes 28 per cent of the budget.