China
China is a relative newcomer to peacebuilding, but its recent moves to participate in Afghan peace talks, influence and fund progress in Burma’s peace process, invest in Pakistan, and contribute to United Nations peacekeeping missions illustrate a growing role in conflict zones of strategic interest to the United States. China’s increased engagement presents opportunities for reducing violent conflict, but U.S. and Chinese interests and approaches do not always align. Through research, dialogue, and training, the U. S. Institute of Peace provides evidence-based analysis of China’s activities and impact, identifies areas for collaboration where appropriate, and develops strategies for preventing differences from exacerbating instability or undermining broader peacebuilding efforts. Learn more in USIP’s fact sheet on The Current Situation in China.
Featured Publications
The Role of U.N. Peacekeeping in China’s Expanding Strategic Interests
Despite its growing status as a major economic and military power, China continues to be a strong supporter of UN peacekeeping operations. China is not only the second-largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping (after the United States), it has roughly 2,500 personnel deployed in ongoing missions, including in active combat zones in Mali and South Sudan—far more than any other permanent member of the UN Security Council. This Special Report examines what China hopes to gain from its participation in UN peacekeeping, as well as the challenges it will face as its troops find themselves in more dangerous “peace enforcement” situations.
China’s Role in Myanmar’s Internal Conflicts
This report is the first in the Senior Study Groups (SSGs) series that USIP is convening to examine China's influence on conflict dynamics around the world. A group of thirteen experts met from February to June 2018 to assess China’s involvement in Myanmar’s internal conflicts, particularly those in Rakhine, Kachin, and Shan states, as well as China’s impact on Myanmar’s overall peace process.
The Intersection of China’s Commercial Interests and Nigeria’s Conflict Landscape
Like Washington, Beijing has an abiding strategic interest in promoting stability and security in Nigeria—the largest economy in Africa, a major oil and gas producer, and on track to become the world’s third most populous country by 2050. Yet from the Boko Haram insurgency in its northeast to farmer-herder clashes in its Middle Belt...