The president of China, Xi Jinping, did not participate in the United Nations General Assembly during his visit to the United States this week. This does not mean, however, that Beijing is neglecting the international body.
On the contrary. China has been expanding its influence within the UN, in a move that became easier as Donald Trump reduces the United States’ involvement with the multilateral system.
China’s strategy is carried out mainly through less visible agencies, responsible for setting standards in some of the most controversial areas today, such as artificial intelligence, where there is intense global debate between proponents of a freer approach and those who advocate stricter rules.
These discreet efforts are overshadowed by the rivalry between the US and China on topics such as trade, technology and security, which dominated headlines when Trump and Xi met in Washington this week.
But this contest for influence is no less important. It is a long-term strategy. While Trump retains millions of dollars in US contributions and withdraws the country from dozens of international agencies, including the World Health Organization (WHO), China occupies the spaces left by the Americans.
The number of Chinese staff in the UN system has jumped by a third since before the pandemic, reaching 1,641 people. At the same time, Beijing has been offering software, navigation systems and financial resources in exchange for greater participation in shaping global rules, promoting a slow redistribution of power through appointments, partnerships and influence on the agenda of councils and committees.
China rejects any suggestion that it is trying to take control of the UN.
“We do not say we are more powerful within the UN; we see ourselves as equals,” said Fu Cong, Chinese ambassador to the organization. “But we are pleased to see that more people are paying attention to China’s positions and opinions.”
Historically, the United States has been the UN’s largest financier. Trump is a longtime critic of the organization and reiterated that view this week, telling world leaders that the body must stop promoting “the left-wing agenda of globalist bureaucrats.”
According to the American ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, this thinking is shared by conservative sectors in the United States.
“There are many people who ask: ‘Why not simply abandon this mess that is the UN?’” Waltz said at a defense conference this year. “But if we do that, someone will fill that space. I don’t want to see a UN run by Beijing.”
Meanwhile, China seeks to broaden its influence in areas that include global trade, through the World Trade Organization (WTO), climate science and nuclear regulation.
At the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), traditionally shaped by American priorities, diplomats say that recent appointments to strategic posts and projects of technical cooperation have strengthened Beijing’s position.
China has also used the IAEA to increase diplomatic pressure on Japan. Chinese envoy Li Song has called for continued monitoring of the discharge of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, although the agency itself says that the operation meets international safety standards.
According to the IAEA’s Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the agency’s hiring process is based on technical criteria and professional qualifications.
“But we must not pretend that international organizations are islands of purity and perfection in a world that is naturally competitive and harsh,” he said.
© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.
