To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Chinese armed forces' participation in United Nations' peacekeeping operations, a photo exhibition titled In the Cause of Peace opened on Monday at UN headquarters in New York.

The exhibition, which showcases 64 photos and themed pictures featuring Chinese peacekeepers' lives and activities around the world, runs through Nov 15.

"It's a pleasure to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the strong partnership for peace and security between the People's Republic of China and the United Nations," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote in a congratulatory letter.

"Peacekeeping saves lives, protects people and helps countries overcome war and conflicts ... the photo exhibition just provides a small glimpse of the major efforts undertaken by Chinese peacekeepers," Cristina Gallach, UN undersecretary-general for communications and public information, read from the letter.

Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said that as one of the important pillars of the UN, the impact of peacekeeping operations is strong and will continue to be influential.

China has actively participated in UN peacekeeping since 1990, when the country sent five military observers to the UN Truce Supervision Organization.

Since then, personnel from several divisions of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), including soldiers and riot police, have been involved in multinational missions, such as the anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden.

During the past 25 years, China has sent more than 30,000 peacekeepers to 29 overseas missions, including 10 who lost their lives. China's peacekeepers are taking part in nine out of 16 UN peacekeeping programs.

President Xi Jinping, during his recent state visit to the US, announced at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly on Sept 28 that China will join the UN capability readiness system and set up a permanent peacekeeping force of 8,000 troops.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 11/11/2015 page2)