How the U.S. Should Respond to China’s Rising Influence in the United Nations

As highlighted in a recent Heritage Foundation paper, Chinese influence in the international system has been rising for over a decade and there is growing bi-partisan concern about how that influence will affect U.S. interests. China seeks to use its expanding influence within the U.N., not because it supports the founding principles of the U.N., but in order to shift the values, programs, and policies of the U.N. in ways that benefit Chinese priorities and ideology. This shift would harm U.S. interests and undermine the system of values and practices established in the postwar era. The U.S. cannot reverse this trend entirely, but it must take strategic steps to ensure that Chinese influence is reasonably contained and its leadership is restricted and channeled in the U.N. and other international organizations in ways that do not directly undermine U.S. interests. Please join us as the panelists discuss strategies for the U.S. going forward.