Just hours after taking the presidential oath, Donald Trump withdrew the United States from two critical United Nations initiatives: the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Climate Agreement.
In this context, China has announced its commitment to playing a responsible role in advancing these two important global initiatives. During a briefing at the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Tuesday morning, ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated, “China believes that, for the sake of global humanity, there should be a healthcare system based on mutual exchange between countries and nations. The WHO fulfills this responsibility, and for this reason, China’s support for the organization will always continue. In the near future, the WHO will not weaken but become stronger.”
Highlighting China’s support for the Paris Agreement, Jiakun added, “Climate change is a challenge that requires action from all countries, all nations, and all people in the world. It is not a challenge that will affect only a single country, nor can it be resolved by one country alone.”
“Therefore, China advocates working together in unity to combat this global crisis known as climate change.”
Trump’s grievances with the WHO are longstanding. During the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Trump alleged that the coronavirus was created in a biological research laboratory in Wuhan, China, and spread due to the carelessness of lab staff. When the WHO did not support this claim, Trump expressed anger and halted US funding for the organization. Notably, the United States is the largest donor to the WHO, contributing 15% of its annual budget.
Meanwhile, the Paris Climate Agreement, aimed at controlling climate change and reducing global warming, was signed by 196 UN member states, including the United States, in 2015. Barack Obama was the US president at the time.
Trump, elected as Obama’s successor in 2017, dismissed climate change as an environmentalist “hoax” and withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018.
In 2020, Trump lost the presidency to Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden. Upon taking office, Biden reinstated US funding for the WHO and rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement.
However, after winning the 2024 election, Trump was sworn in again as US president yesterday, Monday, January 20. Within hours of his inauguration, he withdrew the US from the WHO and the Paris Climate Agreement once again.
Beijing has expressed concerns over this decision. During the briefing, Jiakun remarked, “Such actions will hinder cooperative international relations.”