The rise of China does not have to be a divisive factor for the international community. On the contrary, it can be a catalyst for a more cohesive global village. A document published by the Information Office of the State Council in September 2011, China's Peaceful Development, explicitly underlines the unprecedented interdependence between China and the world: "China cannot develop itself in isolation from the rest of the world, and global prosperity and stability cannot be maintained without China."

Trade, finance, business and tourism are all areas in which China's global projection is having a considerable impact but Beijing's international peacekeeping effort is one of the most promising forms of the country's opening-up to the world. Not well known or fully appreciated outside China, it illustrates the country's willingness to be a globally responsible actor.

When the People's Republic of China joined the United Nations 41 years ago, it looked at the peacekeeping operations with suspicion. Putting the principle of political sovereignty above other considerations, China rejected interventions in foreign countries that supposedly contradicted the notions of non-interference and peaceful co-existence.