China's candidacy for WIPO fails, but UN plan in Beijing is still on track

Singapore candidate defeated China Thursday gain leadership competition at the United Nations World Intellectual Property (WIPO), while Beijing continues to jockey for control and influence in U.N.

Daren Tang, 47, current CEO of Singapore Intellectual Society real estate agency, should now take over from Francis in Australia Gurry at the head of WIPO.

China's Wang Binyang – who would have been the first woman to detain the position – was one of the five shortlisted candidates for the position, but Tang beat Wang by 55 votes to 28. His appointment must still be approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations agency, but this probably a formality.

WIPO chief's campaign has seen senior US officials denounce The Chinese candidate on the grounds that Beijing stole an intellectual property in the past.

WIPO Generates Significant Revenue from Corporate Taxes on Patents and trademark registration service.

Chinese Ambassador to Geneva Chen Xu denied that the result was a defeat for the Chinese government, which has actively extended his power and influence abroad since President Xi Jinping took power in 2012.

"The whole process, I think, is a very strong indication of China willingness to contribute more to the international community, " Chen told reporters, "We have done our best."

James Pooley, Deputy Director General for Innovation and Technology WIPO Sector, told RFA that China's huge infrastructure investment program in developing countries in recent years has made it much more Beijing will lobby to support its own interests in international forums.

According to him, China has reproduced its lobbying and voting research strategy in a number of international organizations, with a Success.

China has now seen its nationals reach the highest position in four United States. agencies: Qu Dongyu at the Food and Agriculture Association (FAO); Croc Liu to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); Zhao Houlin at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); and Li Yong at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

Fox guarding the chicken coop

Last month, Peter Navarro, assistant to the President for commerce and manufacturing policy, wrote that China jockeying continuously for the control of the specialized agencies of the UN.

"WIPO's gambit in China is part of a larger strategy to take control on the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations ", writes Navarro in the Financial times February 23.

"China already heads four of the specialized agencies of the United Nations while none another country runs more than one, and Chinese nationals number two to seven of them, including the PMOI, "he said.

He said it would have been a "terrible mistake" to give control of PMOI to Representative of China, Given Beijing Record intellectual property (IP).

"Intellectual property theft in China costs the US economy between 225 billion US dollars and 600 billion US dollars a year, "wrote Navarro.

Richard Gowan, who represents the International Crisis Group at United Nations said China's control over FAO last year had come an unpleasant shock to Washington, which then lobbied Wang Binning during the WIPO selection process.

Requests for comment to the Chinese Embassy in the United States and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing had not received any response at the time of publication.

But Chinese authorities have struck in the past in the United States & amp; # 39; own lobbying activities like "arrogant repression of China for for political purposes. "

Pooley said China had offered to open an office Shanghai, raising concerns about top secret patent security documents under the international patent system, which receives more 250,000 patent applications per year.

He said the requests contained some of the most valuable secrets in the world, and this global confidence in China's ability to intellectual property is too weak to allow him to lead the PMOI. the the plan for the Shanghai office was later abandoned.

"Trecord setting of the United Nations agenda "

A senior White House official told RFA that Beijing's campaign for PMOI control is part of its attempt to "reshape the system to accommodate his political and economic interests. "

"The Chinese Communist Party officials in these leadership positions are not independent and proven in the development of the United Nations agenda to serve (Beijing) interests, "said the official.

"In the service of this strategy, (China) has always sought to exchange financial incentives to vote, offer bribes and cancel debt for the countries that support them. "

Last year, China canceled Cameroon's debt the month before the country withdrew his candidate for FAO head, and threatened to cut the key exports from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay if these countries do not back Qu, who now directs the body, the Washington Post reported sure Tuesday.

The newspaper says China is the only contributor to peace and Development Trust Fund, which grants Chinese authorities four of the five steering committee seats. The Fund advises the Secretary-General of the United Nations on which projects to finance, allowing Beijing to lobby for its belt and International investment program in road infrastructure, the newspaper said.

Hong Kong current affairs commentator Simon Lau said China also began to implement its strategy of international influence at the UN. Human Rights Committee and – taking into account in particular the current COVID-19 epidemic – to the World Health Organization (WHO).

"Trump himself has criticized the United Nations Human Rights Committee for … allowing the Chinese Communist Party and Russia to control its response to human rights violations, "Lau told RFA." isolated incidents: this is state policy. "

"A few years ago, China started to promote the idea of ​​a Chinese solution to international disputes … and refers to the hegemony of the United States, while it claims to be all about peaceful negotiations, "he said. told me.

He said that Beijing's influence was quite audible in the response from WHO to China's management of the coronavirus epidemic.

"Whenever the director general of WHO goes out to say something on the current global spread of the epidemic, he must praise Xi Jinping, "said Lau.

"If we already see this happening at WHO, then maybe will also be commended for China's intellectual property protections … around the next Sino-US intellectual property negotiations? "

Reported by Jane Tang for RFA's Mandarin Service and by Lau Siu-fung for Cantonese service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.