Senior officials of United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) have lauded China's peacekeeping efforts in boosting Liberia's economic growth and long-term stability, describing their performance as "professional and monumental."
Salihu Z Uba, Force Commander of UNMIL, told Xinhua in an interview that Chinese transportation, engineer and medical units have done extremely well and are fully professional in the country where 85 percent of the population live below the international poverty line.
"China has contributed a lot in peacekeeping as a whole. China sent peacekeepers to Liberia in the very beginning of the post-war reconstruction of Liberia," said Ingrid Dagestad, deputy police commissioner of UN police.
Liberia had witnessed political instability since 1980 when a military coup overthrew the True-Whing Party leadership, which led to the deaths of between 250,000 and 520,000 people and devastated the country's economy. A peace agreement in 2003 led to democratic election in 2005.
China has since 2003 sent peacekeepers to Liberia as part of efforts to back UN peacekeeping missions, currently, more than 500 Chinese peacekeepers are carrying out various UN missions in the country.
Chinese peacekeepers' outstanding performance has significantly contributed to the nation and regional development, adding such performance is standard and highly-appreciated by UN peacekeepers in Liberia and UN as a whole.
"They (Chinese peacekeepers) are very dedicated to the job, task and responsibility they get. They are good models for commitment and conducting discipline," Dagestad said.
China stepped up its peacekeeping effort globally over the past two decades. Chinese President Xi Jinping in September at a UN summit announced that in the next five years, China is to provide a total of 100 million U.S. dollars of free military aid for the Africa Union (AU) to support the establishment of the African Standby Force.
China is also to deploy its first helicopter detachment in UN peacekeeping missions in Africa.
Uba said Chian's support to AU in general is monumental, timely and desirable, which will add value to what is existing on the continent.
When recalling China's aid to help west African countries battle the deadly Ebola virus that has killed over 10,000 people in the region, Uba said China's humanitarian assistance has been its great contribution to Africa, adding that such assistance is visible and highly-appreciated by local government and people.
In combating Ebola, China has provided assistance to 13 countries in and around the affected areas with a total amount of 120 million U.S. dollars.
So far, China has sent over 1,000 medical staffers to the affected countries, treated more than 900 patients, and trained some 13,000 medical workers for Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and their neighboring countries.
