CGTN poll: U.S. exit from WHO may worsen global governance deficit

The "America First" policy cannot herald a new "Golden Age" for the U.S. and may further exacerbate the global governance deficit, said global respondents of an online survey, expressing concerns over the new U.S. administration's announcement of withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the survey conducted by CGTN, 68.5 percent of respondents said the withdrawal will hinder global cooperation on climate and health issues, while 77.7 percent of respondents said they were worried the U.S. move will set a bad example in the international community. For example, some countries that are unwilling to reduce emissions or face the pressure of economic transformation may be influenced by the U.S. to treat emission reduction commitments negatively or even follow suit and withdraw, undermining the global efforts to address the real threat of climate change.

As the world's largest economy, the U.S. is an important contributor to many key international organizations and governance mechanisms. It's frequent withdrawal from international organizations or agreements not only damages the international multilateral cooperation mechanisms, but also overdrafts the national credit and exposes various problems of domestic politics, according to the survey respondents. 

In the survey, 81.4 percent of the respondents said they believe what the new U.S. administration did is irresponsible and feel disappointed. As much as 77.5 percent of respondents believe it will lower America's national credit and damage its international influence, while 78.4 percent of respondents consider that the new U.S. administration regards the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the WHO as one of the measures to overturn the Biden administration's policies, reflecting the increasingly serious bipartisan confrontation and political polarization in the country.

In fact, the U.S. has always viewed international organizations, institutions and mechanisms with a realistic and utilitarian mindset, considering them as tools to achieve and maintain its own global hegemony. Under the idea of "America First," the new U.S. administration is trying to force international organizations to make concessions to the U.S. on issues such as rule-making, institutional operations and governance reform by "withdrawing from the international treaties and organizations." 

The survey shows that 81.6 percent of respondents believe that the U.S. pursuit of self-interest at the expense of international interests will seriously undermine the fairness and justice of the global governance system and harm the legitimate interests of other countries. Facing the current geopolitical conflicts and global challenges, 86.5 percent of respondents call on the international community to strengthen unity, practice true multilateralism and take joint actions to respond to global challenges.

The survey was released on CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms, with over 7,452 people voting within 24 hours.