Ashraf Siddiqui
Doha
Defence Attache at the Embassy of China in Qatar Colonel Yang Yongzhi has said that the celebration of the 97th anniversary of the establishment of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) also coincided with the 10th anniversary of Qatar-China strategic partnership.
He was addressing a reception hosted in Grand Sheraton Hotel Doha on Monday in the presence of Ambassador of China to Qatar HE Cao Xiaolin, Brigadier-General Khalifa bin Jalouf from Qatar Amiri Air Force, Brigadier-General Khalifa Ahmed Al Ammari from Qatar Air Force, Naval Commodore Sharjeel Iftikhar, Dean of Defence Attaches in Qatar and Defence Attache of Pakistan in Qatar; defence attaches of various countries, members of the diplomatic Corp, and guests.
Col Yongzhi said the military relations between China and Qatar have also continued to develop in a healthy and stable manner and achieved positive results.
He said that at the end of 2023, the 44th PLA Navy escort fleet visited Doha and Lieutenant-General Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission, had a successful visit. PLA Naval delegation visited DIMDEX in the beginning of the year, while Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs HE Dr Khalid Al Attiyah visited China, and the PLA National Defence University delegation visited Qatar.
Col Yongzhi added that the cooperation between China and Qatar in military training and defence industry is also expanding and deepening, stressing that the prospects for China-Qatar military cooperation are promising in the future.
He said that China having land border of over 22,000 kilometres and coastline of over 18,000 kilometres is a daunting task for China to safeguard its territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests, and national unity. Therefore, it demands China to build a strong national defence and a modern military.
He pointed out that since the founding of China, the country has never initiated a war, never invaded an inch of land of another country, never engaged in proxy wars, never participated in or formed any military blocs, emphasising that China is the major country with the best record on peace and security issues.
The Chinese defence attache said that China will always be committed to guarding world peace and tranquility.
“China is the second largest contributor to UN peacekeeping budget and the largest troop contributor among the permanent members of UN Security Council. Since the year of 1990, PLA has sent almost 50,000 peacekeepers to UN peacekeeping missions in over 20 countries and regions. Chinese peacekeepers have cleared and disposed over 18,000 mines and unexploded ordnance, built or repaired more than 18,000 kilometres of roads and provided medical services to over 267,000 sick or wounded people,” he said.
He said that, in recent years, the international and regional security landscapes are increasingly complex and challenging with the Ukraine crisis, conflict in Gaza, cyber security and climate change.
“In April 2022, bearing in mind the future of humanity, President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Security Initiative. The initiative contributes China’s wisdom to the efforts of mankind in tackling peace deficit, and offers China’s solution to addressing international security challenges,” Col Yongzhi added. “China is not only the initiator of the global security initiative, but also the actor in implementing this important initiative.”
