China’s expanding influence within the United Nations has emerged as a major concern among US lawmakers and Trump administration officials, who warned that Beijing is using international institutions to advance its strategic, technological and military interests.
During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on United Nations reform, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said Washington was working to counter China’s growing presence across key UN agencies and global standard-setting bodies.
Waltz told lawmakers that the United States could not afford to step away from international organisations that help shape global rules.
“We have to get in there and fight and win,” he said.
The ambassador said the competition for influence extended beyond traditional diplomacy and included specialised UN agencies responsible for setting international standards in areas such as intellectual property, telecommunications, aviation and maritime affairs.
“There are these global standard-setting bodies, these little baby UN agencies that many people have never heard of, that set the rules of the road for our industries around the world,” Waltz said.
He highlighted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), where Washington supported a Singaporean candidate rather than a Chinese nominee to lead the agency overseeing global intellectual property standards.
Waltz also pointed to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), saying the organisation played a critical role in setting standards for cables, spectrum, radio technology and other areas central to the global economy.
Republican lawmakers at the hearing raised concerns that China was using financial contributions and UN peacekeeping operations to expand its geopolitical influence.
Representative Scott Perry alleged that Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative had become linked with several UN agencies, allowing China to build political influence in developing countries through international institutions.
Waltz said the US administration had pressed the UN Secretariat to stop using a trust fund connected to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“We’ve demanded the UN Secretariat stop using that slush fund,” he said.
He added that Washington had increased transparency around foreign assistance programmes to ensure better oversight of funding.
Lawmakers also questioned China’s role in UN peacekeeping operations. China is currently the largest troop contributor among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and the second-largest financial contributor to the organisation.
Representative Sheri Biggs asked whether Beijing was using peacekeeping deployments for intelligence gathering and strategic positioning.
Waltz said he believed Chinese deployments could serve multiple purposes, including providing strategic advantages for Beijing.
“I don’t think for a second that they don’t serve a dual purpose as eyes and ears on the ground for the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.
While he declined to discuss intelligence assessments publicly, Waltz said the administration was closely monitoring China’s activities within UN peacekeeping missions.
He also acknowledged that Chinese peacekeeping forces often provided valuable capabilities, saying they were sometimes better equipped than contingents from other countries.
Jeffrey Bartos, US Representative for UN Management and Reform at the State Department, said the United States remained underrepresented within the UN bureaucracy despite being one of its largest financial contributors.
He stressed the importance of increasing American representation in leadership positions across the organisation.
“Our allies have a choice… when we do step in there and provide leadership, we have meaningful impacts across the system,” Bartos said.
The hearing reflected bipartisan concerns about reforming the United Nations, although lawmakers differed over whether the solution was greater US engagement or reducing funding to push institutional changes.
China has expanded its presence across the UN system over the past two decades, increasing financial contributions and representation in specialised agencies while seeking greater influence over global rules on technology, trade, development and international standards.
