Global Watch | China Chronicles: How China is ‘hijacking’ the global institutions

Over the last five decades, China has systematically infiltrated not only the various bodies of the United Nations but also several other global institutions. US Congressional Service, Rand Corporation, German Marshall Fund (GMF) and a few others have mapped the Chinese presence in these organisations and its implications for the rest of the world, especially Taiwan. According to the GMF report, “Beijing has managed to further institutionalise and normalise its stance on Taiwan within the UN by signing secret agreements with UN bodies, restricting Taiwan’s access to the UN and its facilities, and embedding PRC nationals across various levels of UN staff. The UN and its specialised agencies have not made the texts of these agreements, such as that of the 2005 memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the PRC and the World Health Organization, available to the public or to any entity beyond the main signatories, though leaked guidance memos provide insights into the scope of the MoU’s content. The PRC has likewise sought to force its views on nomenclature relating to Taiwan within the UN. This includes withholding UN accreditation from NGOs and civil society groups that do not refer to Taiwan as a part of the PRC in their organisational materials or on their websites. Recently, it has come to light that the PRC and its representatives have altered historic UN documents to change references of ‘Taiwan’ to ‘Taiwan, Province of China’.” The World Health Organisation (WHO) has become a classic case study when it comes to the Chinese modus operandi or capturing and misusing the global organisations. The partial role played by WHO to defend China during COVID-19 has been much talked about. Michael Collins, a research associate for Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, summed it up well in a commentary published in 2020: “China was an important ally of (WHO Director-General Adhanom Ghebreyesus) Tedros in the WHO’s DG election in 2017. Months before the election, Tedros was invited to speak at Peking University where he called for stronger cooperation between China and the Global South on health issues. China’s support for Tedros paid off immediately. The day after his electoral victory, Tedros confirmed to Chinese state-media that he and the WHO will continue to support the ‘One China’ principle, which recognises the government in Beijing as the legitimate Chinese government. Three years later, Tedros’ enduring support of China’s response to Covid-19 shows that their early support for him is still paying dividends.” But it isn’t about WHO only. Here is an indicative list that just exposes the tip of the iceberg as far as the issue of China’s efforts to hijack global institutions is concerned. All the Chinese officials who are manning crucial positions in global institutions have something in common-they have all been part of the Chinese establishment in the past and have worked at politically significant positions. Some of them have worked with organisations who provide a façade for the Chinese espionage network. This list has been updated till 25 April, 2023. Dongyu QU, Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO): Dongyu Qu took office as Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in August 2019. Before coming to FAO, Dongyu Qu served as PRC Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Prior to this, he served as Vice Governor of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (2008-2011) Shaolin Yang, Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Administrative Officer: According to the official website of World Bank, Shaolin Yang has been Managing Director and World Bank Group Chief Administrative Officer since February 2016. He is responsible for organisational strategy; budget and strategic planning; information technology; corporate procurement; general services and corporate security; the sanctions system; and the conflict resolution and internal justice system. Shaolin Yang also leads the development and review of the World Bank Group’s strategic agenda through 2030 and oversees the alignment of resources with corporate strategies. Previously, he served as Director General for International Economic and Financial Cooperation at China’s Ministry of Finance. Bo Li, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund: Bo Li assumed the role of Deputy Managing Director at the IMF in August 2021. He previously served as the Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and as the Vice Mayor of Chongqing. According to the IMF’s official website, Bo Li is responsible for the IMF’s work on about 90 countries as well as on a wide range of policy issues. Interestingly, Li was also Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and we have discussed in the earlier series on ‘Chinese Spy Games’, how overseas Chinese play an important role in China’s espionage network. Shixin Chen, Vice-President Operations, Asian Development Bank: As Vice-President (Operations 1) since December 2018, Shixin Chen is responsible for operations in the South Asia Department and the Central and West Asia Department. Prior to joining ADB, Shixin Chen headed the Department of International Economic and Financial Cooperation at the PRC Ministry of Finance (2016-2018). Xiangchen Zhang, Deputy Director-General, World Trade Organisation: Ambassador Xiangchen Zhang’s appointment as a Deputy Director-General of the WTO was announced on 4 May, 2021. He is also the Vice Minister in the PRC Ministry of Commerce. Until recently, Ambassador Xiangchen Zhang served as China’s Permanent Representative to the WTO as well as Deputy Permanent Representative to the WTO. He has held several senior positions within the Chinese government. Guoqi Wu, Associate Vice-President, Corporate Services Department: Guoqi Wu oversees human resources, administrative services, safety and security and information technology resources for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Prior to that, he served in the Chinese Ministry of Finance in various positions. Binying Wang, Deputy Director General, WIPO: Binying Wang has held a series of leadership positions at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). In early 2020, she ran as China’s nominee in a high-profile race for WIPO Director General, where she was ultimately defeated by Daren Tang of Singapore. She currently administers several key programmes under WIPO. Before joining WIPO, Binying Wang served in a number of positions at China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) including Managing Director, China Trademark Service and Acting Director General, Department for Registration of Enterprises and Foreign Companies. Hua Liu, Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation, International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA): Hua Liu was appointed Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation in February 2021. Hua Liu has held various senior positions in China, including Vice Foreign Minister of Ecology and Environment from 2018 to 2021 and Vice Minister of Environmental Protection from 2016 to 2018. Xiaojie Zhang, Director, Technical Cooperation Division, International Maritime Organisation: Xiaojie Zhang was appointed to this post in 2020. He previously worked as Deputy Director-General for the Department of International Cooperation within the PRC Ministry of Transport. Zhenmin Liu, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, UNESCO: Zhenmin Liu was appointed Under-Secretary General of the United Nations for Economic and Social Affairs in June 2017. Immediately prior to his appointment to the UN, he was the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of China (2013-2017). Prior to this position, he served as the Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva (2011-2013). Zhenmin Liu started his career at the Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry in 1982. Hanqin Xue, Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ): According to ICJ’s official website, she has been “member of the court since 29 June 2010; re-elected as from 6 February 2012 and as from 6 February 2021; Vice-President of the Court from 6 February 2018 to 8 February 2021.” She entered the Chinese foreign affairs ministry in 1980 and worked there till joining ICJ. Binchen Hu, Delegate for Asia in the Executive Committee of International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL): Binchen Hu was formerly the Deputy Director General of the International Coordination Department in the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. In November 2021, he won one of two seats representing Asia (3-year term) on Interpol’s executive committee. According to a ‘Sydney Morning Herald’ published on 26 November 2021, “Hu Binchen is a deputy general in China’s Ministry of Public Security which oversees policing. His candidacy was opposed by MPs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) who are part of a global alliance representing democratic countries and who say his election would give Beijing the green light to misuse the agency; in particular, the Red Notices issued for arrests of wanted fugitives. The international alliance said it was ‘deeply concerned’ by the result.” “The government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has repeatedly abused the Interpol Red Notice to persecute dissidents in exile,” IPAC said in a statement. The IPAC statement added, “Hu’s election gives the PRC government a green light to continue using Interpol as a vehicle for its repressive policies globally and places thousands of Hong Konger, Uyghur, Tibetan, Taiwanese and Chinese dissidents living abroad at even graver risk. The PRC cannot be allowed to continue its long-arm policing abroad. Activists, dissidents and exiles living abroad must be protected from harassment and intimidation from the PRC authorities.” Haoliang Xu, Assistant Secretary-General, UNDP: The UN Secretary-General appointed Haoliang Xu as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Assistant Administrator and Director for the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support in July 2019. Prior to this appointment, he had served as the UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific since 2013. The UN’s official website gives out some interesting details about him: “Before joining the UN, he was a computer-aided design engineer with Louis Berger International Inc in New Jersey and assistant lecturer at Tongji University in Shanghai. A Chinese national, he holds a Bachelors in Engineering from Tongji University in Shanghai, Masters’ of Science in Management from Stevens Institute of Technology (USA), and Masters’ of International Affairs in Economic Development and Policy Analysis from Columbia University (USA).” Jian Liu, Chief Scientist, UNEP: Jian Liu is currently the Chief Scientist of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as well as acting Director of the Science Division. According to the UNEP’s official website, his earlier posts include Deputy Director General of the Bureau of Resources and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, and Manager of the Environment Programme of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. Rong Yang, Officer-in-Charge, Regional Programmes Division (United Nations Human Settlements Programme also known as UN-Habitat): Rong Yang has been involved in the UN-Habitat Programme Division since 2016, including a post as Inter-Regional Advisor at Nairobi, Kenya. Hong LI, Director, External Relations, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW): According to OPCW’s official website, the External Relations Division advises the Director-General on external relations policies, promotes universal adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and liaises with governments, international organisations, the media, and non-governmental organisations. Prior to joining the OPCW, Hong Li held posts in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was China’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the OPCW as well as the Secretary-General of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association (CACDA).

The above is an indicative list. There are many more organisations which have now either been hijacked by the Chinese or are in the process of getting hijacked. The rest of the countries should wake up before it’s too late. (Concluded)] The writer, an author and columnist, has written several books. He tweets @ArunAnandLive. Views expressed are personal. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.