This Day, That Year: April 16

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

Since joining United Nations peacekeeping operations in 1990, China has dispatched more than 35,000 personnel overseas.

In April 1992, it sent its first company of engineers to Cambodia, as reported in an item that month in China Daily.

In January 2001, the country deployed its first 10 police officers to East Timor.

As of January last year, Chinese troops had been deployed 24 times, with more than 35,000 personnel dispatched, according to UN official statistics. On average, China contributes more troops to UN peacekeeping missions than any other permanent member of the UN Security Council.

More than 2,500 Chinese peacekeepers are currently serving in eight missions around the world, undertaking tasks including medical treatment, engineering, transportation and security.

This year marks the 29th anniversary of the country's participation in UN peacekeeping missions.

President Xi Jinping said at the UN Peacekeeping Summit in September 2015 that China would establish a 10-year $1 billion peace and development fund to support UN work.

He added the country will help train 2,000 peacekeepers from other countries and launch 10 minesweeping assistance programs before 2020.

In 2017, the Ministry of National Defense announced China had registered an 8,000-strong standby peacekeeping force at the UN.

The standby force will play a constructive role in maintaining world peace and regional stability. Troops from the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Navy, Air Force and Logistics Force will undertake tasks such as combat-readiness training and disaster relief in China before conducting any missions overseas.

During the past decades, 13 Chinese UN peacekeepers have lost their lives in the line of duty.