UNITED NATIONS – Beijing will contribute 8,000 troops for a United Nations peacekeeping standby force, Chinese President Xi Jinping told the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, a move that could make it one of the largest players in U.N. peacekeeping efforts.

Paying his first-ever visit to the U.N., Xi took a new step to address criticism that China has not taken responsibility commensurate with its growing size.

Xi said that China, which has increasingly joined multinational defense efforts, would “take the lead” in setting up the 8,000-troop “permanent peacekeeping police squad” that could be deployed at short notice.

Xi also announced $100 million in funding to the African Union to support a similar rapid reaction force, as well as a broader 10-year, $1 billion U.N.-China “peace and development fund.”

The moves came as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the same day that Japan will play a greater role in U.N. peacekeeping operations (PKO) in accordance with new national security laws enacted by the Diet earlier this month.

Based on the Abe administration’s so-called proactive pacifism policy, the government has been ramping up efforts for the needed preparations, Abe said in his speech at a U.N. peacekeeping summit.

“Under the new laws, Japan will boost its contributions to PKO,” Abe said, also suggesting that Japan plans to dispatch Self-Defense Force officers as commanders for such missions. As the new laws allow Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defense and expand the scope of operations by SDF troops, Japan will be able to make further contributions, Abe added.

The laws include the revised PKO cooperation law, which allows SDF troops on peacekeeping missions to protect civilians and military forces of other countries working in the host country of the missions.

The prime minister explained that his government plans to expand Japan’ role in activities such as improving roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects, as well as the airlifting of people and goods. He also said Japan will send more officials to the U.N.’s headquarters.

Washington pays more than 28 percent of the $8.2 billion U.N. peacekeeping budget, while Tokyo pays nearly 11 percent, but Beijing says it contributes more personnel to peacekeeping missions than each of the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: the United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.

The top five troop- and police-contributing countries are Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan and Rwanda, according to August data from the U.N. website.

China now provides around 3,000 of the more than 106,500 U.N. troops, police and advisers deployed by all countries, making it the ninth biggest contributor of peacekeeping personnel. Japan, with just over 270 peacekeepers, ranked No. 55.

Its largest contingent is in South Sudan, where it has played a growing diplomatic role and is a major investor in the oil industry.

Experts have noted that China’s expanding peacekeeping role in recent years parallels its desire to expand its military’s capabilities farther abroad and could provide logistical and operational experience.

“They clearly want to create a more international armed force so they can operate in more challenging environments,” said Douglas Paal, director of the Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

China’s economy has soared over the past 15 years to become the largest after the United States, and the world’s most populous nation has sought to be treated as a major global power.

But China’s neighbors and the U.S. have voiced concern over Beijing’s territorial claims, while Western nations have charged that Beijing’s interest in poor nations is purely mercantile rather than focused on development.

Xi hit back in his speech, saying China was “committed to peaceful development.”

“No matter how the international landscape may evolve and how strong China may become, China will never pursue hegemony, expansion or a sphere of influence,” he said in an address to the U.N.

Xi, however, said that the United Nations allowed all countries to “choose their own sovereignty and development paths.”

The comment was likely a veiled allusion to the frequent criticism of China’s human rights record, which includes the imprisonment of democracy activists such as Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo.

“All countries are equals. The big, strong and rich should not bully the small, weak and poor,” Xi said.

Speaking shortly before Xi, U.S. President Barack Obama reiterated calls for freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, the vital shipping corridor where Vietnam and the Philippines, in particular, have been concerned about Beijing’s assertive moves.

“We will defend these principles, while encouraging China and other claimants to resolve their differences peacefully,” Obama said.

Xi did not respond directly but, like Russian President Vladimir Putin who spoke after him, he denounced the “Cold War mentality” and the use of force by major powers.

“The law of the jungle leaves the weak at the mercy of the strong. It is not a way for countries to conduct their relations,” Xi said.

“Those who adopt the high-handed approach of using force will find that they are only lifting a rock to drop on their own feet,” he said.

But Xi has largely struck a conciliatory note on his trip to the United States, which comes amid growing jitters about the growth trajectory of China’s economy.

Xi on Saturday promised $2 billion in development assistance for poor nations as part of a U.N.-led effort to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030.

A day earlier on a state visit to Washington, Xi promised a more aggressive effort to combat climate change including a system to cap emissions.