Editorial | China should not be denied its rightful role in leadership at UN
- The United States is worried about more Chinese being elected to lead United Nations agencies, but there is an element of hypocrisy in the American efforts to stymie the rise of a rival
The United States and its allies are increasingly fretting about China’s growing influence in the United Nations, which marks its 75th anniversary this year.
With four of the body’s 15 specialised international agencies that support its work already headed by Chinese, and elections to the end of 2021 set to choose the leadership of nine more, efforts are well under way to cajole and sway voting nations.
The concern is that Beijing will use its muscle to reshape the existing international order to its advantage. There is an obvious element of hypocrisy; that is exactly what Americans and their supporters have been doing for decades by using multilateral organisations to impose their will on others.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Telecommunication Union, UN Industrial Development Organisation and International Civil Aviation Organisation are already headed by Chinese nationals. Britain, France and the US direct the same number of such bodies.
Campaigning is under way to choose the next director general of the World Intellectual Property Organisation, and with its Chinese deputy among the front runners, horse-trading and pressure tactics are rife.