Participation of Chinese NGOs in International Humanitarian Aid: The Example of Peaceland Foundation

NGOs from developing countries are playing an increasingly prominent role in international humanitarian aid, delivering more rapid and culturally informed responses. Despite this trend, Chinese NGOs remain understudied. Peaceland Foundation is the only Chinese NGO actively involved in front-line humanitarian rescue which holds ECOSOC consultative status, making it a compelling case for operational analysis. This study employs a mixed-methods design, combining document analysis of internal reports and literature with semi-structured interviews. We identify a three-phase operational model: pre-deployment assessment (“before”), on-site coordination (“during”), and post-mission programming (“after”). Our findings show that Peaceland Foundation has developed substantial experience in key operational areas, including decision-making, information acquisition and processing, local cooperation, community awareness-raising and capacity-building, as well as organizational internationalization. However, gaps remain in its pre-operation risk assessment and in the implementation of long-term impact tracking mechanisms. We further argue that for NGOs from developing countries, an initial strategic priority is to enhance visibility and credibility through active engagement in humanitarian aid. We recommend that future research and practice focus on strengthening partnerships among NGOs from developing countries and on establishing robust systems for long-term impact evaluation.