China has nominated Dr. Song Li, former director of the Department of Women and Child Health at its National Health Commission, to become the next director-general of the World Health Organization. Reuters reported the nomination Thursday morning, and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning confirmed it at a press briefing.
Mao framed the move as part of China’s broader push for influence in multinational organizations following the United States’ withdrawal from the W.H.O. President Donald Trump first pulled the U.S. out in July 2020, saying China had too much sway over the agency relative to its financial contribution.
“China has total control over the World Health Organization despite only paying $40 million per year compared to what the United States has been paying, which is approximately $450 million a year,” Trump said at the time.
The Biden administration reversed that withdrawal in January 2021, but Trump signed another executive order pulling the U.S. out again after returning to office in January 2025.
At Thursday’s briefing, Mao said the W.H.O. director-general role is “particularly important” given current global health challenges and strains on multilateral cooperation.
“China’s nomination of Dr Song Li demonstrates China’s willingness to work with all parties to build a community of health for all, and reflects China’s firm support for multilateralism and the W.H.O.,” Mao said. “We believe that if Dr. Song Li is elected W.H.O. director-general, she will help the organization play a more active role in improving the health and wellbeing of all humanity.”
If elected, Song would be the first person from mainland China to lead the agency, according to the South China Morning Post. Hong Kong physician Margaret Chan headed the W.H.O. from 2007 to 2017, succeeded by current director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who must step down by August 2027 after serving the maximum two five-year terms permitted under W.H.O. rules.
Song is the seventh candidate nominated so far for the post, joining nominees from Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Indonesia, Spain, and Botswana.
Song’s background
Song left her post as Director-General of the Department of Women and Child Health at China’s National Health Commission last month. She also serves on the secretariat of the All-China Women’s Federation, a Communist Party organ under direct Party supervision.
She studied at Shandong Medical University and Peking University, and spent six months in 2010 as a visiting scholar in global health at Harvard. During China’s response to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, she worked on procedures for maternity and newborn care and helped establish treatment networks for pregnant women infected with the virus.
Reuters quoted a former senior W.H.O. official who said China might use Song’s candidacy as “leverage to gain greater influence in the W.H.O. by making sure there are more Chinese senior officials at the organization.”
Funding disputes continue
The United States remains the W.H.O.’s largest single contributor by assessment, with China ranked fourth, but the World Health Assembly suspended America’s voting rights in May over unpaid arrears. The W.H.O. said it cut its base budget by roughly 21 percent after Trump’s January executive order.
The World Health Assembly has said it will not formally recognize the U.S. withdrawal until all outstanding dues are paid. Argentina also withdrew from the organization last year, though without the legal exit right built into U.S. membership. To date, the W.H.O. has never formally accepted any member nation’s withdrawal.
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