Chinese peacekeeping roles are ‘concentrated in strategically sensitive regions’ to gain intelligence, House Foreign Affairs Committee told

Lawmakers called out China’s growing footprint at the United Nations on Wednesday as a vehicle for espionage even as a Congressional hearing over its funding descended into a heated partisan battle over the Iran war started by US President Donald Trump.

“The Chinese peacekeeping department is concentrated in strategically sensitive regions, including areas along Belt and Road [Initiative] corridors, near ports, mineral resources, and existing or potential basing locations,” Sheri Biggs, a Republican from South Carolina, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington.

“These are long-standing concerns about whether this designation is cover to advance military and intelligence objectives in regions where the US has strategic interests.”

Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, said that China’s peacekeeping forces are generally well-equipped and better prepared for UN missions than those of other member states.

“That said, I don’t think for a second that they don’t serve a dual purpose as eyes and ears on the ground for the Chinese Communist Party,” added Waltz.

Washington’s top diplomat in New York said that part of the US reform agenda included using its influence on the UN Security Council to streamline and downsize the South Sudan operation, an area where China has major energy and geopolitical interests.