The past three decades have seen China's armed forces become a key force in UN peacekeeping operations, says a white paper released by the State Council Information Office on Friday.

Chinese military peacekeepers have left their footprints in over 20 countries and regions including Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Sudan, Lebanon, Cyprus, South Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic.

By fulfilling tasks of ceasefire supervision, stabilizing the situation, protecting civilians, providing force protection and deploying enabling capabilities, they have made a tremendous contribution to facilitating the peaceful settlement of disputes, safeguarding regional security and stability, and promoting economic and social development in host nations, according to the white paper titled "China's Armed Forces: 30 Years of UN Peacekeeping Operations."

Far from home, Chinese military peacekeepers have actively facilitated humanitarian assistance and participated extensively in post-conflict reconstruction, making concrete efforts to bring peace and hope to war-afflicted peoples, the white paper says.