China goes after US over more than $1 billion owed to the UN

UNITED NATIONS — China is going after the United States over more than $1 billion that the Trump administration owes the United Nations in unpaid dues for its regular operating budget and arrears for the separate budget for the U.N.’s far-flung peacekeeping operations.

The unusual singling out of the U.S. non-payment by China’s U.N. mission comes as President Donald Trump continues to accuse Beijing of not being open about the coronavirus when cases were initially reported in December and early January.

A U.S. Mission spokesperson said China “is eager to distract attention from its

cover-up and mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis, and this is yet another example.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in early April that the United Nations faced a cash crisis because of non-payment of dues by member states, which has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

He said in a letter to the U.N.’s 193 member nations that “unpredictable cash inflows, exacerbated by the global crisis posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, seriously threaten” the U.N.’s ability to do its work. He announced a temporary hiring freeze and urged all countries to pay their past and present dues.

China’s U.N. Mission said its acting deputy ambassador, Yao Shaojun, spoke at a U.N. General Assembly’s budget committee meeting Thursday titled “Improving the Financial Situation of the United Nations,” and stressed the importance of all U.N. member nations fulfilling their financial obligations, citing the U.S. arrears.

“Facing tremendous economic and fiscal pressure from the COVID-19 outbreak, China, the second largest contributor to the UN regular budget and peacekeeping budget, has managed to pay all assessed contributions in full,” the mission quoted Yao as saying. “It shows China’s concrete support to the cause of the U.N. and the work of the secretary-general.”

The United States funds 25 percent of the regular U.N. budget, while China pays 12 percent. Of the 193 member nations, 91 had paid their dues in full as of May 13. China paid $336.78 million for the regular budget on May 1.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday there is still $1.62 billion unpaid for the U.N.’s 2020 regular budget and $2.12 billion outstanding for the peacekeeping budget. He did not give the U.S. arrears.

China’s Yao called the United States “the largest debtor,” saying it owed about $1.16 billion to the regular budget and $1.3 billion to the peacekeeping budget.