China commits combat troops to Mali China has publicly committed to sending combat troops on a UN peacekeeping mission for the first time, marking a big shift in Beijing's foreign policy. "We will send comprehensive security forces to Mali for the first time," Wang Yi, foreign minister, said in a speech at a security forum in Beijing on Thursday. Chinese officials and scholars said this meant Beijing's contingent would include combat troops. "This is a major breakthrough in our participation in peacekeeping," said Chen Qian, head of the UN Association of China, a Chinese think tank. With this, our contribution will be complete. We will have policemen, medical forces, engineering troops and combat troops. Having close to 1,900 personnel deployed as of December last year, China is already the largest contributor to UN peacekeeping missions among the five permanent member countries of the UN Security Council. But Beijing has long shied away from sending combat troops. This was partly because non-intervention in other countries" internal affairs and the refusal to use external military force to settle conflicts in other countries among the sacred principles on which Beijing's foreign policy rests. In addition, the Chinese government has been reluctant to fuel global concern over its rapid military modernisation by letting the People's Liberation Army go on global missions too quickly. But the political and military leadership have gradually become more flexible over the past few years, with statements acknowledging that China's hunger for resources and its growing investments and travel abroad have expanded its interests beyond its immediate neighbourhood. Mr Wang, in the first speech outlining the principles and trends in Chinese foreign policy since he became minister in March, indicated that Beijing did not want to be seen as changing its foreign policy radically as it rises to global power status. He reiterated the time-tested principles of non-intervention and rejection of military force as a means of conflict resolution. But when outlining China's challenges, he also mentioned the need to align its foreign policy with its expanding global interests. The People's Liberation Army has been reviewing the possibility of sending combat troops on UN missions for at least four years. Early last year, it took a preparatory step by sending some infantry on a mission to South Sudan who were given the task of guarding and protecting their own medical and engineering colleagues. A source familiar with the Mali mission said China's Mali commitment was not different from the South Sudan participation in substance, but the government's public announcement showed that sending troops that might have to fight was now accepted policy. This week, the UN Security Council formally approved a peacekeeping contingent to start operations in the African country from July 1. But the council said it still needed more troop commitments. Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, thanked China during a visit to Beijing last week for its "strong and growing operational and political engagement with peacekeeping." In January, France and Chad began a military offensive aimed at driving out Islamist fighters who took the opportunity of an uprising by Touareg rebels in Mali to grab more than half of the country's territory. The UN mission is to take over from France. Military experts familiar with China's discussions with the UN on the Mali mission said Beijing was likely to send at least 500 men on the mission which is to have a total headcount of 12,600, forming one of China's largest ever peacekeeping contingents. But it is unclear whether the UN's peacekeeping office has decided yet whether to take up China's offer.