China’s malign influence at the United Nations

Over the last decade, Chinese diplomats have pursued a systematic campaign to place loyal nationals in senior UN posts, leveraging financial contributions, vote trading, and bilateral pressure.

- DANIEL WAGNER

Beijing has mastered the art of punching above its weight in multilateral organizations to wield substantially more influence than its membership positions otherwise entitle it to. This is true in a variety of organizations, from the World Health Oral development banks. But perhaps the best example is the United Nations (UN), which is treated by the Chinese Communist Party (the CCP) less as a neutral forum and more as an arena to rewrite norms in its favour.

Consider that in 1994, China paid less than 1% of the UN's regular budget; by 2025 its assessed share is about 20% of the regular budget and nearly 23% of peacekeeping costs, second only to the US. That is a staggering shift in a single generation. Yet for most of that period, the CCP ensured that China was viewed as a “developing country”, whose demands deserved indulgence rather than scrutiny.

Over the last decade, Chinese diplomats have pursued a systematic campaign to place loyal nationals in senior UN posts, leveraging financial contributions, vote trading, and bilateral pressure. Since 2019, Chinese nationals have headed four UN specialized agencies—the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Telecommunication Union, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the UN Industrial Development Organization—each critical to setting international standards.