Trump's WHO funding freeze gives China an opening to expand its influence
Days after President Trump announced he would freeze U.S. funding to the World Health Organization, China made a very different statement: A $30 million pledge to the group.
Trump and his allies argue the WHO’s response to the coronavirus has been ineffectual and “China-centric” — and some outside the administration agree.
But his largely unpopular decision this month to suspend funding to the global health agency for 60 days in the middle of a pandemic could have impacts that reverberate beyond the current crisis: Enhancing China’s standing in the world while reinforcing perceptions of the United States as an unpredictable partner.
In the short run, the move hands Beijing a propaganda victory, bolstering its campaign to deflect attention from what happened in Wuhan and recast the crisis as evidence of China’s competence and cooperative might. A foreign ministry spokesman said the donation showed China was “defending the ideals and principles of multilateralism” — a not so subtle swipe at Trump’s frequent attacks on globalism.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trumps-who-funding-freeze-during-coronavirus-pandemic-gives-china-an-opening-to-expand-its-influence/ar-BB13h40S?li=BBnb7Kz
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