China Offers $100M Free Military Assistance To African Union

China has pledged $100 million free military assistance to support the African Standby Force and rapid-response force for the next five years, state-run news agency Global Times reports.

China is negotiating with the African Union to draft the implementation plan for the assistance, Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, was quoted as saying at a monthly briefing on Thursday.

During the Thursday briefing, Wu said that China has registered an 8,000-strong standby peacekeeping force at the UN.  

The standby force will play a constructive role in maintaining world peace and regional stability, Wu added.

Troops from China's ground force, navy, air force as well as its logistics force will undertake tasks such as combat readiness training and disaster relief in China before any missions overseas.