| The Chinese PKOs has called so much attention that some scholars are stillignoring the Chinese efforts to support Africa. China’s contributions to internationalpeacekeeping operations are often not well understood even China itself remains astudy in process, so the few assessments on China international strategy and theimpact of its policy in regard to Africa still unwell apprehended, as well as thecultural exchange elements, of its peacekeeping diplomacy; for that, the chapter twodeveloped some arguments base on the Liberalism, constructivism and realism whichhave served to explain the motivations behind the Chinese intervention in PKO inAfrica. The argument developed was that if liberalism allows us to take into accountimportant economic and domestic dimensions, constructivism helps to betterunderstand the dynamics of relations between China and Africa. But their Argumentswere not sustainable due to the fact that realist focuses on the importance of the questand ambitions of China in Africa, hence its presence in the peacekeeping issue has abetter explanation regarding realist. The chapter three tried to clarify through theChinese involvement in the Africa security challenge, readapting its foreign policy tosuit with the real Africa problems and by taking part to the UNPKOs.In the last chapter, the fourth one, we mainly talk about how China’sinternational peacekeeping commitments cross the globe (the use of the media). Thisis a remarkable advance according to China’s early history at the UN during the1970s,when it shied away from supporting all peacekeeping missions on the grounds thatthese missions do not respect the national sovereignty of countries. In the late1980sand early1990s, as the country’s reform and opening process gradually embedded itseconomic and political interest in the international system, China’s diplomaticoutreach also became more global. Through a well use of these operations and themedia outlet, China ranks twelfth in the total number of troop contributions bycountry to UN missions. China has its personnel on all four continents where there areUN missions. China’s participation in UN peacekeeping missions is an important toolof its public diplomacy, which is increasingly focused on projecting the image ofChina as a responsible power. Much of this has to do with the fears that othercountries have about China’s rapid economic and political rise; and by focusing itsefforts in Africa where we have the larger deployment of troops, it is to confirm itspeaceful rise policy. Through its contribution of personnel to peacekeeping missions, China is filling a conspicuous physical vacuum left by the Western members of thePermanent Five, who contribute financially to peacekeeping in Africa, but do notcommit to significant troop deployment. This has undoubtedly enhanced China’sstrategic positioning at the UN and AU, especially since peacekeeping is the singlemost high-profile element of UN and sub-regional organization activities. In the realworkings of the AU the strength of this strategic positioning is reflected in theappointment of China’s candidates to top key posts in the sub-regional organization.China’s influence was recently demonstrated in the appointment of Kuang Weilin as apermanent to the Africa mission, a candidacy to which the Chinese governmentattached great importance and extended full support. Here comes the place for theAfrica media to put an eye onto the Chinese participation in the PKOs.International diplomacy can be described in different ways. China’s behavior atthe international level is accompanied by the citizen diplomacy where the purpose ofthe peacekeeping mission is to emotionally touch the conflict or post conflict zonepopulation. China’s citizen diplomacy tends to be overlooked, because most observersview peacekeeping as hard security military missions that are determined by therealpolitik and ambitions of powerful countries rather than by the individuals whocomprise these operations. |
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