Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Aug 04, 2025

Buying power: how China co-opts the UN

Buying power: how China co-opts the UN

It was one of those forgettably historic moments at the United Nations. The year was 2015, the UN’s 70th anniversary, and China’s President Xi Jinping was in New York, speaking in person to the UN General Assembly.
In festive spirit, Xi announced that China would set up a $1 billion trust fund to be dispersed over ten years to ‘support the UN’s work’ and ‘contribute more to world peace and development’.

So began the Peace and Development Trust Fund, one of China’s more insidious projects to co-opt the UN, its logo and its global networks. On Xi’s watch, China has become the second-largest contributor to the UN General Assembly and Peace-keeping budgets, secured the fawning allegiance of the World Health Organisation and taken charge of four other specialised UN agencies.

But that trust fund, one of Xi’s pet projects, has taken on a quietly invasive role that needs a major public airing. China’s Peace and Development fund bypasses the common pots of UN funding and channels millions of dollars every year directly from Beijing to the executive office of the UN Secretary-General.

Not that the $1 billion promised by Xi ever fully materialised. By the time the deal was signed in 2016, China had arranged a big discount for itself, downsizing the gift to $200 million over ten years, or $20 million a year. It was still gravy, and the then Secretary--General Ban Ki-moon was grateful. His spokesman described China’s new fund as a ‘demonstration of the strong commitment of the government and people of China to the goals and activities of the UN’.

Actually, it’s worked the other way around: China’s Peace and Development fund has translated into a stronger UN commitment to the goals and activities of China. A priority of this fund is UN promotion of Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative, with its predatory lending practices, strong-arm diplomacy and trade practices, and potential military extension of China’s reach.

China’s direct cash infusion to the secretariat, totalling $20 million a year, is split into two subfunds. One funnels $10 million annually to the executive office of the Secretary--General, to help him promote ‘Peace and Security’. The other subfund pours $10 million a year, earmarked for ‘Sustainable Development’, to a satrapy within the secretariat, the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), which since 2007, at the pleasure of the Secretary-General, has been run by — you guessed it — China.

This Peace and Development lucre is doled out for dozens of projects each year, blessed by Beijing, approved by Secretary-General António Guterres and adorned with the UN’s baby-blue label. In approving these projects, Guterres is advised by a five-member steering committee, chaired by his Brazilian chef de cabinet.

The other four committee members are all from China: one senior official from China’s foreign ministry, another from China’s finance ministry, plus China’s ambassador to the UN and the UN Under-Secretary-General in charge of DESA, previously China’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Liu Zhenmin. Within DESA, the sustainable development subfund is managed by another official from — you guessed it again — China.

Much of this operation is intriguingly opaque. That creates a daunting task for anyone trying to rule out notions about China’s Communist regime lavishing slush funds on the UN secretariat. There have long been many trust funds for many purposes at the UN, some single-donor, some multi-donor.

They can be approved either by the General Assembly or the Secretary--General. But this is a rather special case in which former Secretary-General Ban approved, and Guterres continues to legitimise, a flow of many millions every year from the world’s leading tyranny to his own office.

The UN has kept secret the full text of this trust-fund agreement with China’s government. Most of the project descriptions that the UN releases to the public are brief and generic, consisting of a few sentences and a lone figure for the total dollar amount. It has been almost a year since the UN last released updates on new project approvals. According to the Secretary-General’s press office, for projects given a green light in 2020, there will be no information available until 2021.

From what can be gleaned, it appears the Secretary-General’s Peace and Security subfund goes mainly to security-related projects in Africa, where China has become both a major investor and a big contributor of troops to UN peacekeeping missions.

Sounds reasonable, except for the nagging question of why, with a UN peacekeeping budget of some $6.5 billion a year funded through the usual multilateral channels, China feels a need to give $10 million a year to the Secretary-General for more of the same. For instance, $1.1 million for ‘strengthening peacekeeping capacity with a focus on Africa’. Who and what exactly is the Secretary-General, with his Chinese pin money, strengthening at the margin?

As for the development subfund, dispensing $10 million a year to the Chinese-run DESA, all roads lead to the Belt and Road. It’s written right into the subfund’s guidelines (‘Strengthen national capacity of developing countries along the Belt and Road region…’). Under the UN label, millions have been spent on ‘Jointly Building the Belt and Road’ and ‘Promoting Sustainable Investments Along the Belt and Road’.

Then there’s the $3 million project for training ‘up to 500 senior civil servants (Permanent Secretary or Director-General level)’ to better mesh with the strategic planning of the China-UN development agenda.

A UN internal audit of the Peace and Development Trust Fund, dated 18 December 2019, found that: ‘Controls relating to governance and project management need to be strengthened to increase the impact of the Trust Fund’s activities.’ But for all the dissatisfaction of the UN auditors, Xi seems happy.

In September the UN held a virtual celebration of its 75th anniversary. Speaking from Beijing, Xi announced to the General Assembly that ‘China will extend the Peace and Development Trust Fund between the UN and China for five years after it expires in 2025’. Whatever’s going on in there, he figures he’s getting his money’s worth.
#ANT 
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
×