China Supports WHO Firmly After Trump Decided To Quit UN Health Body

China expressed its firm support for the World Health Organization (WHO) since United States President Donald Trump announced the nation's withdrawal from the UN health body.

Donald Trump decided to withdraw its participation from WHO as the organization mishandled the Covid-19 crisis and failed to carry out reforms, the newly elected President said.

Soon after Trump had sworn-in as President on Monday, he had signed an executive order beginning the process of withdrawing America from the WHO, the second time in less than five years that the US has ordered to withdraw from the world body.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, reacted to Trump's move saying, China will continue to support the world health body in fulfilling its duties.

According to Guo Jiakun, as an authoritative international organisation in the field of global public health, WHO plays a central coordinating role in global health governance, and its role should be strengthened, not weakened.

He added that China will continue to support WHO in fulfilling its duties, deepen international public health cooperation, strengthen global health governance, as well as promote the building of a global community of health for all.

But What Has Caused This Move?

For long, Trump has been critical of the WHO and has mulled pulling out the US from the UN body during his first term Presidency, but his successor Joe Biden had reversed Trump's decision.

Trump signed the executive order which said that the President was sending a presidential letter to the United Nations secretary-general to formally notify him of this plan.

Earlier in 2020, the United States had withdrawn from the WHO due to the organization's mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China and other global health crises, along with its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, as well as its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states, the executive order stated.

In his previous term, Trump alleged that the pandemic was leaked from a bio lab in Wuhan.

(With PTI inputs)