UNITED NATIONS, May 7 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Tuesday that bilateral, regional and international cooperation must be conducted in peacekeeping capacity building.

Efforts must be made to "actively build partnerships in capacity building for peacekeeping. Bilateral, regional and international cooperation must be conducted in peacekeeping capacity building," Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council open debate on "Investing in Peace: Delivering Quality Training and Capacity Building to Improve Safety and Security and Performance of UN Peacekeepers."

"Support must be given to African Union (AU), ASEAN and other regional organizations in their efforts to enhance their regional peacekeeping capacity," he said.

"It is imperative to attach importance to and support the significant role of AU and other regional and sub-regional organizations in maintaining peace and security in Africa and assist AU in its efforts for early establishment of the African standby force and rapid reaction force," the Chinese ambassador said.