Staffing the United Nations: China’s Motivations and Prospects

With Courtney Fung. A developing public commentary views China as exerting influence in international organizations to legitimize and disseminate PRC foreign policy values and interests. This article examines an understudied source identified by PRC elites to promote influence in the United Nations system: dispatching PRC nationals as international civil servants, specifically in a targeted pursuit of executive leadership positions. Using decades of UN staffing data, we find that apart from Russia, China holds the fewest executive leadership posts among the aspiring and permanent members of the UN Security Council. Moreover, China is yet to lead an agency addressing international security matters. US and European staff contributions are significantly higher at all staffing levels of the international civil service. Still, the data shows that China made modest, targeted gains in most specialized UN agencies, and agencies headed by PRC nationals show faster increases in PRC staff members, though all base numbers were low. We draw from Chinese-language sources to discuss issues facing China in increasing its international civil service numbers, affecting the country’s ability to shape global governance.’

Download paper here

Recommended citation: Fung, Courtney J., and Shing-hon Lam. 2021. “Staffing the United Nations: China’s motivations and prospects.” International Affairs 97(4).