As US slashes funding, UN peacekeeping head says global body can rely on China

The United Nations can count on China’s support, the UN’s peacekeeping chief said in Beijing as he flagged the body’s financial strains – due in large part to Washington’s funding squeeze.

Speaking at the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing on Wednesday, UN undersecretary general for peace operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the international system was under severe strain and the UN urgently needed to adapt its tools to modern realities.

Lacroix warned that the global body’s financial situation “is concerning member states” and it cannot be expected to deliver the same results with “steadily fewer resources, reduced mobility and a shrinking field presence”.

He said the UN had a responsibility to be “efficient, disciplined, transparent and accountable” when using the pooled resources of member states.