China is to send a policeman to Afghanistan for the first time on Friday at the request of the United Nations.

Zhang Ming, a policeman with experience fighting drug trafficking in Hainan Province, south China, will leave for Afghanistan on January 16 on a UN peacekeeping mission.

Afghanistan is the fourth country where China has sent police officers on UN peacekeeping missions, after East Timor, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Liberia.

At present, 21 Chinese police officers are on duty in East Timor and Liberia on UN peacekeeping missions.

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2004)