China second-largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping in 2025, SIPRI says
Quick Look
- China was the second-largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping missions in 2025, after the US, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
- The report noted a substantial rise in China's share as geopolitical tensions increasingly paralyzed multilateral peace operations.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
China has become the second-largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, with its share increasing substantially in 2025. This comes as geopolitical tensions increasingly paralyze multilateral peace operations, leading to a significant decline in deployed personnel.
China was the second-largest financial contributor to the UN peacekeeping mission after the US last year, with its share rising “substantially” as geopolitical tensions increasingly paralysed multilateral peace operations, according to a Swedish think tank.
In a report on multilateral peace operations in 2025 released on Monday, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said that 78,633 international personnel had been deployed with UN peace operations by December 31 – some 49 per cent less than in 2016.
It was the “the lowest level since at least the year 2000”, the report said.
Published ahead of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers on May 29, it noted that while the numbers had been in decline over the past decade, 2025 saw the sharpest year-on-year drop in that period, sliding by 17 per cent.
“If things continue in this way, we could see a dramatic weakening of multilateral conflict management and the near-complete sidelining of institutions like the United Nations due to a perfect storm of funding, political and geopolitical factors,” said Jair van der Lijn, director of SIPRI’s peace operations and conflict management programme.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Dramatic weakening of multilateral conflict management and near-complete sidelining of institutions like the UN.
Possible · Medium term
Open Questions
- What specific geopolitical factors are paralyzing multilateral peace operations?
- What are the long-term implications of China's increased financial contribution to UN peacekeeping?
- What is the breakdown of China's financial contribution compared to other major contributors?
- What is the impact of the decline in personnel on the effectiveness of UN peace operations?
