UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- High priority should be placed on the safety and security of the United Nations peacekeepers, a Chinese UN envoy said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Triangular Formula Meeting on Training, Capacity Building, Safety and Security, and Performance of UN Peacekeeping, Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said that their safety and security concerns the result and reputation of peacekeeping operations.

The Chinese envoy also called on the UN Secretariat and missions to provide quality support to peacekeepers, ensure provision of security and medical materials, strengthen early warning and response to emergencies, and improve the ability of tackling complex conditions.

"Training should be strengthened throughout the process," he added.

Noting that sufficient and targeted pre-deployment training and necessary equipment should be made available to peacekeeping personnel, Ma said that UN missions should also carry out training according to the situations on the ground during deployment.

Ma said that a holistic approach is needed to improve performance of peacekeeping.

The performance assessment system needs to be optimized and the troop contributing countries should be fully involved, he added.

Ma highlighted that China, as a major contributor of troops and funds, firmly supports and actively participates in UN peacekeeping operations.

"As we speak, more than 2,500 Chinese peacekeepers are serving in eight missions around the world, undertaking tasks including demining, medical treatment, engineering, transportation and security guard," he said.

According to Ma, China has established an 8,000-member peacekeeping standby force and two standby formed police units, which have completed the registration with the UN Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System (PCRS). Some are capable of rapid deployment within 60 days.

China will continue to work with UN Secretariat and the member states to further improve UN peacekeeping to honor its commitment to multilateralism and world peace, he added.

The Triangular Formula Meeting was a panel discussion forum organized by the UN troop and police contributing countries to discuss the mandates of operations and strategic and thematic issues such as training, capacity building, safety and security, and performance.