China has asked Canada to host a team of Chinese army officers, who want to observe how Canada trains, equips and leads peacekeeping troops. China has only gotten involved in peacekeeping operations in the 1990s, and then only providing police or military observers. But if China provided well prepared troops for peacekeeping duty, this would significantly expand the number of peacekeeping troops available, as China maintains the largest army on the planet. This would also be a plus for China, as UN peacekeepers are paid at a "UN rate" that, while not high as wages paid to Western soldiers, is much higher than what troops in countries like China receive. The poor nations sending troops, tax these wages heavily, or simply take the UN wages and pay the troops what they usually get. But for China, the reasons for being more involved in peacekeeping are more practical than financial. Such operations would give China more clout in the UN and provide their troops with some useful field experience.
