The Trump administration is making a final attempt to counter Beijing’s growing influence at the UN by trying to persuade member states not to vote for the Chinese favorite at the head of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The United States is pressuring the 83 eligible Wipo member states to vote for Darren Tang, a Singaporean candidate against Wang Binying, a former Beijing trademark chief who already works for Wipo as deputy director.
A senior Trump administration official told the Financial Times that China’s own campaign to rally support for Ms. Wang to become chief executive “reflects her broader strategy to increase her influence in international organizations and to take control of the United Nations standardization bodies “.
The official added: “Beijing’s efforts are aimed at reshaping the international system to take account of its political and economic interests.”
The US decision to counter China’s influence on international forums opens a new front between Washington and Beijing as the two compete in commercial and military prowess.
Mark Lambert, the new envoy appointed by the Trump administration to counter China’s growing weight at the UN, is accompanying the U.S. delegation in Geneva for the two-day voting process which begins on Wednesday.
China already heads four of the 15 United Nations agencies – Unido, the industrial development organization, Itu, the international telecommunications organization Icao, which deals with civil aviation, and the United Nations and agriculture. No other permanent member of the United Nations Security Council heads more than one agency.
A State Department official said that the appointment of Beijing’s preferred candidate to head FAO last year was a “wake-up call” in Washington.
James Pooley, former deputy managing director of Wipo, said that to put China at the head of a global institution dedicated to the protection of intellectual property would be to “name the fox to keep the henhouse”.
He said it would mean China could access the “secrets of future global technology before anyone else”.
Pooley said that a determined Director General could probably overcome various technical guarantees to accede to the Patent Cooperation Treaty, where a reserve of 250,000 patents per year from more than 153 participating States is kept for about 18 months before approval.
A 2017 American report said that Chinese actors were responsible for US intellectual property losses worth between $ 225 billion and $ 600 billion a year. However, Chinese Ambassador to London Liu Xiaoming said in a letter to the FT this week that the allegations that China “stole” intellectual property were unfounded.
Listen to the weekly podcast by Gideon Rachman, the FT’s chief foreign affairs columnist, and listen to his conversations with policy makers and thinkers around the world who shape global affairs
US officials have already spent weeks lobbying, but someone familiar with voting calculations said it would be close. The person said that China has a leverage effect on 40 to 45 of the 83 voting countries but that it would need to “rake” in Africa and in Latin America to be sure to win.
“A Vanuatu vote is the same as an India vote; they are very good at it, “said an American official of the Chinese approach.
The United States hopes that African countries will avoid a well-qualified Ghanaian candidate due to an informal rotation that should see an Asian or Latin American candidate elected this time. Six candidates stand for election.
Wei Lei, a former AIP chief information officer for Australia, said that some European member states “were reluctant” to support Mr. Tang because the other candidates had more experience in organizing .
Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, accused the United States last week of turning voting into an “immoral” political game in its efforts to smear China. A senior Trump administration official replied in Beijing who had used “intimidation, coercion and threats.”
The Trump administration is making a final attempt to counter Beijing’s growing influence at the UN by trying to persuade member states not to vote for the Chinese favorite at the head of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The United States is pressuring the 83 eligible Wipo member states to vote for Darren Tang, a Singaporean candidate against Wang Binying, a former Beijing trademark chief who already works for Wipo as deputy director.
A senior Trump administration official told the Financial Times that China’s own campaign to rally support for Ms. Wang to become chief executive “reflects her broader strategy to increase her influence in international organizations and to take control of the United Nations standardization bodies “.
The official added: “Beijing’s efforts are aimed at reshaping the international system to take account of its political and economic interests.”
The US decision to counter China’s influence on international forums opens a new front between Washington and Beijing as the two compete in commercial and military prowess.
Mark Lambert, the new envoy appointed by the Trump administration to counter China’s growing weight at the UN, is accompanying the U.S. delegation in Geneva for the two-day voting process which begins on Wednesday.
China already heads four of the 15 United Nations agencies – Unido, the industrial development organization, Itu, the international telecommunications organization Icao, which deals with civil aviation, and the United Nations and agriculture. No other permanent member of the United Nations Security Council heads more than one agency.
A State Department official said that the appointment of Beijing’s preferred candidate to head FAO last year was a “wake-up call” in Washington.
James Pooley, former deputy managing director of Wipo, said that to put China at the head of a global institution dedicated to the protection of intellectual property would be to “name the fox to keep the henhouse”.
He said it would mean China could access the “secrets of future global technology before anyone else”.
Pooley said that a determined Director General could probably overcome various technical guarantees to accede to the Patent Cooperation Treaty, where a reserve of 250,000 patents per year from more than 153 participating States is kept for about 18 months before approval.
A 2017 American report said that Chinese actors were responsible for US intellectual property losses worth between $ 225 billion and $ 600 billion a year. However, Chinese Ambassador to London Liu Xiaoming said in a letter to the FT this week that the allegations that China “stole” intellectual property were unfounded.
Listen to the weekly podcast by Gideon Rachman, the FT’s chief foreign affairs columnist, and listen to his conversations with policy makers and thinkers around the world who shape global affairs
US officials have already spent weeks lobbying, but someone familiar with voting calculations said it would be close. The person said that China has a leverage effect on 40 to 45 of the 83 voting countries but that it would need to “rake” in Africa and in Latin America to be sure to win.
“A Vanuatu vote is the same as an India vote; they are very good at it, “said an American official of the Chinese approach.
The United States hopes that African countries will avoid a well-qualified Ghanaian candidate due to an informal rotation that should see an Asian or Latin American candidate elected this time. Six candidates stand for election.
Wei Lei, a former AIP chief information officer for Australia, said that some European member states “were reluctant” to support Mr. Tang because the other candidates had more experience in organizing .
Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, accused the United States last week of turning voting into an “immoral” political game in its efforts to smear China. A senior Trump administration official replied in Beijing who had used “intimidation, coercion and threats.”