China increases WHO donations as US retreats

China will give $500 million to the World Health Organization over five years, replacing the US as the institution’s biggest state donor.

The US gave $1.2 billion across 2022 and 2023, but President Donald Trump announced in January that it would withdraw altogether.

Beijing is trying to portray itself as a global leader, capitalizing on Washington’s isolationist turn: Its defense minister also said it would contribute more to peacekeeping, and a Chinese scholar told The Washington Post that China would likely take a bigger leadership role elsewhere.

It is not a purely altruistic move: Beijing has sought to use its growing clout in international bodies to press its territorial claims in the South China Sea and over Taiwan.