We always strive to help improve people's lives

Deng Qiang, 40, captain of the hospital ship Peace Ark

I joined the service in 2000, when I enrolled at a military university to major in systems engineering.

After beginning my work on Peace Ark as vice-captain in 2014, I was successively responsible for combat training, administrative affairs and management of the ship's equipment. I was promoted to captain in 2019.

When I started work on the hospital ship nine years ago, I didn't realize its significance in serving the country's diplomatic aims and the world while spreading the peace-loving ideals of the Chinese military.

As my understanding deepened, I recognized the huge and unique effect it has during peacetime.

Our visitors not only include distinguished presidents and premiers of various countries, but also countless regular people that our all-around medical services reach. To date, seven babies have been born on the ship. Most of them were delivered in difficult circumstances but they finally arrived safely. Two were even given special names by their parents.

One newborn from Sierra Leone, whose mother had a form of glucose intolerance, was severely ill and could have died. After treatment on the ship both mother and baby survived, and the child was named "Peace" in the local language because it had been born on Peace Ark.

In 2010, a baby girl from Bangladesh whose condition was critical because her mother had serious heart disease was named "Chin", which means "China" in Bengali.

Having visited many such countries, so many things have impressed me. Moreover, the words I have heard most are "Thank you", which gives extra meaning to my work. Sadly, I have also discovered there is a universal problem worldwide: unbalanced development.

Now that our country is becoming stronger, we are willing to go out to help more countries to the best of our ability and make friends with them. Those values have always been reflected in Chinese philosophy.

In addition to protecting our homes and defending our country, the responsibilities of the Chinese military include upholding world peace.

Thus, we have to be strong and then become a great power for the promotion of world peace.

That's what China's armed forces are doing now: building a world-class navy and spreading peace and friendship by ourselves.

Peace Ark, a warship without weapons, is absolutely the most appropriate vessel to play that role.

What is a community with a shared future for humanity? The answer to that is the production of win-win results through cooperation and living happy lives together.

Deng Qiang spoke with Jiang Chenglong.