Different strategies

But China and Western countries have different views on the basic concept of "peacebuilding." According to Western countries, peacebuilding means liberal democracy. They believe that the fundamental way to solve conflicts is to realize a market economy and democratic system, and that only the coexistence of a market economy and a democratic system can ensure peace and stability within a country and among countries. For this purpose, in particular cases, the international community can actively promote a democratic system through humanitarian intervention. Thus, after conflicts in a country end, Western countries always urge it to amend their constitutions, hold elections, establish a multi-party system, foster oppositions and improve civil society.

However, China believes that different countries have different priorities in their development. Promotion of a democratic system is not [likely to be] a necessary immediate option for a country after conflict ends. Usually, issues like poverty alleviation and employment are the most important tasks for the country. In this sense, development should always be the main thread linking all the processes of conflict prevention, peacekeeping or peacebuilding. Meanwhile, it is impossible to have a uniform mode for peacebuilding in all countries. International peace operations should adapt themselves and respect realities in different countries, and especially consider the development priorities independently determined by countries involved, and devise different strategies for different countries.

Building infrastructure

A major participant in peacebuilding operations, China needs to strengthen its mid- and long-term efforts in this regard. It should actively increase the proportion of peacebuilding in peacekeeping operations. Differing from other contributors of peacekeeping operations, China is responsible mainly for logistic support, such as providing medical service and transportation. These tasks contain strong elements of peacebuilding, aiming to create a sound social environment for a country or region to have sustainable peace after conflicts. Meanwhile, Chinese peacekeepers mainly do the work of clearing mines, building bridges and roads, constructing airports, water supply projects, power supply, medical treatment and epidemic prevention, which are the basic elements of a peacebuilding process. For instance, in Sudan, Chinese peacekeepers successfully drilled many wells, greatly promoting local economic reconstruction. Meanwhile, Chinese peacekeeping troops in Liberia also taught local people rice-growing technology. In other African countries with peacekeeping operations, Chinese peacekeepers also help training local people engineering machinery operation.

Meanwhile, China should also actively expand new areas of peacebuilding operation, such as appointing special envoys to conflict regions, undertaking humanitarian assistance, cracking down on pirates and fighting against nuclear terrorism.

The author is the deputy director of Institute for International Strategic Studies of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China