In the United Nations bankruptcy, more than 30 percent of countries are indebted, and China has donated one, and the largest debtor emerges.
The United Nations is short of money, it’s not scary.
The $450 million hole is on the table, and UN Secretary-General Guterres is so anxious that "bankruptcy" may be just around the corner.
By the end of September 2025, the collection rate of United Nations dues will be only 60%, and many countries have not paid a penny of the money they should have paid. The most exaggerated thing is that the largest debtor country is the United States, which has always called itself the "world police."
On the contrary, China not only paid a penny less, but also took the initiative to put forward new ideas to help this "global chamber" tide over the difficulties.
The problem is that someone doesn’t want to spend money, someone wants to change the rules, and the fight around the U.N. money pocket is not just as simple as the fiscal issue.
How can the United Nations be so poor? — It is true that many member states are indebted.
The deficit of US $450 million has overwhelmed the United Nations. The budget for 2026 has been forced to cut US $600 million. Even the peacekeeping force has been downsized and more than 2,000 jobs have been laid off.
Guterres said bluntly at the press conference: If this continues, the United Nations may be "paralyzed" by 2027.
Although the United Nations is a political platform, peacekeeping, refugee relief and humanitarian assistance all have to be supported by money. If the money is not in place, even the most basic operations are problematic, let alone solving world contradictions, and even meetings can't be held.
The United States, which has always been clamoring to "lead the world," found that it is the largest debtor to the United Nations when it checked its bills.
The total amount of United Nations contributions currently owed by the United States has exceeded $3 billion, accounting for half of all defaults.
The United States has been playing the trick since the 1980s: it suspends payments whenever the United Nations makes a resolution that doesn’t suit its appetite, expressing “protest.”
According to Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations, delayed membership fees for more than two years will be deprived of the right to vote, but the United States is "a little bit" not paid, once to the critical line for symbolic pay points, both retained the right to vote, and saved a large amount of money.
This operation, in the end, is to exploit the gaps in the rules to profit, it is not leadership behavior, but naked unilateralism, American mouths say to maintain the multilateral order, but in fact continuously weaken the foundation of this order.
This behavior of "being a referee without paying a venue fee" not only puts the United Nations in trouble, but also makes other countries increasingly aware that the United States '"global responsibility" is just a slogan. When it comes to something that requires money, it immediately hides far away.
In contrast, China's performance can be said to be "the opposite". At present, China bears 15.25% of the regular budget of the United Nations. It not only pays its dues in full and on time every year, but also pays an additional 200 million dollars to support the peacekeeping and development projects of the United Nations.
More importantly, China has not only been the "King Lord", but has also put forward practical reform proposals.
At the reform conference on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, China's Permanent Representative at the United Nations, Fujin, put forward a series of recommendations, at the core of which are three key words: normalizing fiscal discipline, enhancing the power of speech of developing countries, and optimizing budget implementation mechanisms.
The current U.N. financial mechanisms are too dependent on the “consciousness” of powerful powers, lack rigid constraints, and the complex and inefficient procedures for budgetary review often lead to delays in funding.
China suggests setting clearer payment deadlines and punitive mechanisms, while expanding the representation of emerging economies in the budget committees, avoiding a few countries from “talking.”
This program, not only in "filling the hole", but also to block the gaps from the institutional level. but to implement, we must also look at the attitude of all parties.
Especially the United States, not willing to give up a part of the "right of speech", is the key to whether it can be changed.
After all, today’s UN financial crisis is not just a matter of a few billions of dollars.
The root cause lies in the "weakness" of system design: the budget of 193 member states must be approved unanimously.
This means that as long as one country opposes it, the budget will not be able to pass; there is no mandatory payment mechanism, and everyone "pays as much as they want". As a result, everyone wants to save money and no one wants to offend anyone.
The scariest thing is that this crisis harms not the diplomats sitting in the conference hall, but the tens of thousands of ordinary people who rely on United Nations assistance.
For example, peacekeeping zones in Africa and war-torn refugee camps in Gaza are currently due to a shortage of funds, material supplies have been interrupted, and even medical care cannot be guaranteed.
If the United Nations is really paralyzed, what will the world become? the answer is straightforward: the fist is counted, international law is set, each country has its own policy, conflict is harder to mediate, and small countries directly "go naked".
This controversy surrounding the "purse" of the United Nations is actually a collective review of the global governance mechanism.
The United States’ delay in debt has not been repeated once or twice, and China’s reform proposal has not been ignored for the first time, the question is, how long will the United Nations stand?
Multilateralism cannot be talked about by words, but by practical actions. China's approach is to tell the world with actions: If we still want an orderly and regular international society, we cannot let the logic of "whoever has the money is willful" dominate the global platform.
The United Nations is like a big family. No matter how poor the family is, it cannot be supported by one person alone.
No one can always think about hitchhiking, let alone smashing pots while eating. If you want this family to stay alive, everyone has to show some sincerity.
This is not a simple financial wave, but a test of the international order.
China has handed in its homework and come up with a plan; the United States is still calculating and refining its books. If the United Nations wants to survive, it can no longer rely on "emotional investment" to support the scene. The system must be changed, responsibilities must be divided, and rules must be observed.
The world is not about who can shout slogans best, but who is willing to really contribute.
If we cannot even protect the United Nations, then what we will lose next will not only be an organization, but a bottom line of civilization.
Source: The People's Daily
The United Nations is short of money, it’s not scary.
The $450 million hole is on the table, and UN Secretary-General Guterres is so anxious that "bankruptcy" may be just around the corner.
By the end of September 2025, the collection rate of United Nations dues will be only 60%, and many countries have not paid a penny of the money they should have paid. The most exaggerated thing is that the largest debtor country is the United States, which has always called itself the "world police."
On the contrary, China not only paid a penny less, but also took the initiative to put forward new ideas to help this "global chamber" tide over the difficulties.
The problem is that someone doesn’t want to spend money, someone wants to change the rules, and the fight around the U.N. money pocket is not just as simple as the fiscal issue.
How can the United Nations be so poor? — It is true that many member states are indebted.
The deficit of US $450 million has overwhelmed the United Nations. The budget for 2026 has been forced to cut US $600 million. Even the peacekeeping force has been downsized and more than 2,000 jobs have been laid off.
Guterres said bluntly at the press conference: If this continues, the United Nations may be "paralyzed" by 2027.
Although the United Nations is a political platform, peacekeeping, refugee relief and humanitarian assistance all have to be supported by money. If the money is not in place, even the most basic operations are problematic, let alone solving world contradictions, and even meetings can't be held.
The United States, which has always been clamoring to "lead the world," found that it is the largest debtor to the United Nations when it checked its bills.
The total amount of United Nations contributions currently owed by the United States has exceeded $3 billion, accounting for half of all defaults.
The United States has been playing the trick since the 1980s: it suspends payments whenever the United Nations makes a resolution that doesn’t suit its appetite, expressing “protest.”
According to Article 19 of the Charter of the United Nations, delayed membership fees for more than two years will be deprived of the right to vote, but the United States is "a little bit" not paid, once to the critical line for symbolic pay points, both retained the right to vote, and saved a large amount of money.
This operation, in the end, is to exploit the gaps in the rules to profit, it is not leadership behavior, but naked unilateralism, American mouths say to maintain the multilateral order, but in fact continuously weaken the foundation of this order.
This behavior of "being a referee without paying a venue fee" not only puts the United Nations in trouble, but also makes other countries increasingly aware that the United States '"global responsibility" is just a slogan. When it comes to something that requires money, it immediately hides far away.
In contrast, China's performance can be said to be "the opposite". At present, China bears 15.25% of the regular budget of the United Nations. It not only pays its dues in full and on time every year, but also pays an additional 200 million dollars to support the peacekeeping and development projects of the United Nations.
More importantly, China has not only been the "King Lord", but has also put forward practical reform proposals.
At the reform conference on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, China's Permanent Representative at the United Nations, Fujin, put forward a series of recommendations, at the core of which are three key words: normalizing fiscal discipline, enhancing the power of speech of developing countries, and optimizing budget implementation mechanisms.
The current U.N. financial mechanisms are too dependent on the “consciousness” of powerful powers, lack rigid constraints, and the complex and inefficient procedures for budgetary review often lead to delays in funding.
China suggests setting clearer payment deadlines and punitive mechanisms, while expanding the representation of emerging economies in the budget committees, avoiding a few countries from “talking.”
This program, not only in "filling the hole", but also to block the gaps from the institutional level. but to implement, we must also look at the attitude of all parties.
Especially the United States, not willing to give up a part of the "right of speech", is the key to whether it can be changed.
After all, today’s UN financial crisis is not just a matter of a few billions of dollars.
The root cause lies in the "weakness" of system design: the budget of 193 member states must be approved unanimously.
This means that as long as one country opposes it, the budget will not be able to pass; there is no mandatory payment mechanism, and everyone "pays as much as they want". As a result, everyone wants to save money and no one wants to offend anyone.
The scariest thing is that this crisis harms not the diplomats sitting in the conference hall, but the tens of thousands of ordinary people who rely on United Nations assistance.
For example, peacekeeping zones in Africa and war-torn refugee camps in Gaza are currently due to a shortage of funds, material supplies have been interrupted, and even medical care cannot be guaranteed.
If the United Nations is really paralyzed, what will the world become? the answer is straightforward: the fist is counted, international law is set, each country has its own policy, conflict is harder to mediate, and small countries directly "go naked".
This controversy surrounding the "purse" of the United Nations is actually a collective review of the global governance mechanism.
The United States’ delay in debt has not been repeated once or twice, and China’s reform proposal has not been ignored for the first time, the question is, how long will the United Nations stand?
Multilateralism cannot be talked about by words, but by practical actions. China's approach is to tell the world with actions: If we still want an orderly and regular international society, we cannot let the logic of "whoever has the money is willful" dominate the global platform.
The United Nations is like a big family. No matter how poor the family is, it cannot be supported by one person alone.
No one can always think about hitchhiking, let alone smashing pots while eating. If you want this family to stay alive, everyone has to show some sincerity.
This is not a simple financial wave, but a test of the international order.
China has handed in its homework and come up with a plan; the United States is still calculating and refining its books. If the United Nations wants to survive, it can no longer rely on "emotional investment" to support the scene. The system must be changed, responsibilities must be divided, and rules must be observed.
The world is not about who can shout slogans best, but who is willing to really contribute.
If we cannot even protect the United Nations, then what we will lose next will not only be an organization, but a bottom line of civilization.
Source: The People's Daily