How China stabilizes global health governance amid U.S. withdrawal

In recent weeks, the United States has moved to exit a number of United Nations organizations, officially leaving the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday. 

The WHO confirmed that the U.S. has not yet paid its assessed contributions for 2024 and 2025, amounting to approximately $260 million. Global health experts warn that this departure poses significant risks not only to the U.S. and the WHO but also to global health security.

The U.S. exit has triggered a financial crisis within the WHO, forcing the agency to halve its management team, scale back operations and cut budgets across the board. Traditionally, Washington has been the UN health agency's largest financial backer, contributing around 18 percent of its total funding.

Against this backdrop of growing uncertainty in global public health governance, China has demonstrated its role as a responsible country by engaging deeply in WHO affairs. Through financial support, technical cooperation and institutional participation, China plays a stabilizing and constructive role, putting into practice the vision of a global community of health for all.

A consistent, reliable contributor

As a founding member of the WHO and the world's second-largest economy, China has long actively fulfilled its financial obligations, serving as a stable supporter of both the WHO's regular budget and voluntary contributions. 

China's assessed contribution share to the WHO has steadily increased, ranking second since 2020, just behind the U.S. China has consistently paid its assessed contributions in full and on time, underscoring its firm commitment to multilateral health governance.

During the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Africa, China provided emergency assistance totaling 750 million yuan (around $107 million), becoming one of the countries that delivered the largest volume of medical supplies to the continent. To help contain the outbreak, China also donated $6 million to the UN Ebola Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund, $2 million to the WHO and $2 million to the African Union.

A practical partner in global health tech cooperation

Data from China International Development Cooperation Agency shows that in the global fight against COVID-19, China was among the first to commit to making vaccines a global public good. It has provided large quantities of medical supplies to 153 countries and 15 international organizations, supplied over 2.3 billion vaccine doses worldwide and cooperated with multiple countries in vaccine production to help bridge the global vaccine distribution gap.

Artemisinin-based drugs and malaria control solutions developed in China have been promoted by the WHO, significantly aiding malaria prevention and treatment in African countries. Every year, over 100 million patients globally receive artemisinin-based treatments. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, approximately 240 million people have benefited from Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies (ACTs), saving millions of lives and making a monumental contribution to the global fight against malaria.

According to China's National Health Commission, since 1963, China has dispatched over 30,000 medical team members to 77 countries and regions worldwide, providing diagnosis and treatment to 300 million patients, training more than 100,000 local medical personnel, and filling thousands of technical gaps in recipient countries.

China has also supported the construction of the Africa CDC headquarters and dispatched expert teams to help enhance the continent's capacity for disease prevention, surveillance and emergency response, thereby strengthening Africa's public health defense system.

An active builder of global health governance

China supports the WHO in playing a leading and coordinating role in global public health governance. It is committed to implementing the International Health Regulations (IHR) and engaging in the development of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, all to safeguard global public health security. During the negotiations for the Pandemic Agreement, China has advocated for greater solidarity and cooperation among nations. It has supported the WHO's central role across multiple provisions, aiming to collectively improve the global health governance system and enhance the world's capacity for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.