China plans to put forward its candidate for the post of head of the World Health Organization (WHO) at a late stage of the process. This will give Beijing an opportunity to expand its influence after the United States leaves the organization. Reuters reports this, citing four diplomats and a knowledgeable source, as reported by UNN.
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Beijing has long sought to play a more active role in UN institutions and other multilateral organizations, while the United States, during Donald Trump’s presidency, reduced its participation in the work of the UN and some of its agencies.
The WHO leads international efforts to combat diseases and health crises, such as the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Sources said that China plans to nominate Song Li — a senior health official with 20 years of experience working on maternal and child health policy and international cooperation — to replace the current Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
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A diplomatic source noted that the planned nomination is clear evidence of China’s desire to fill the vacuum created by the US withdrawal.
Having lost its largest donor, the UN health agency was forced to carry out a major restructuring: scale back its operations, eliminate senior management positions and cut thousands of jobs.
The Trump administration repeatedly criticized the WHO’s actions during the pandemic and accused the organization of bias toward China — the country where COVID-19 originated (the WHO rejects the accusation).
China announced additional funding for the WHO, but these funds cannot fully make up for the deficit that emerged after the United States’ withdrawal.
The WHO will publish the full list of candidates after the regional committee meetings are completed, which are expected in early November.
However, six candidates representing Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Qatar, Botswana, Indonesia and Spain have already decided to publish their names on the WHO website.
Song Li’s candidacy may come under close scrutiny amid longstanding tensions over relations between the WHO and China during the pandemic. In 2020, she was the lead editor of a document containing recommendations on preventing and combating COVID-19 for women in China, intended to establish national standards for maternal and child health care during the pandemic.
If elected, she will become the second representative of China to head the WHO after Margaret Chan.