Rosemary Foot and Sebastian Haug publish Towards a UN with Chinese Characteristics? Heralding Shifts in Multilateral Order

Rosemary Foot and Sebastian Haug, Towards a UN with Chinese Characteristics? Heralding Shifts in Multilateral Order, The British Academy and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2026.

 

The People’s Republic of China has considerably expanded its engagement with the United Nations (UN) system, but its influence differs significantly across issue areas. Despite this unevenness, it is possible to identify patterns in China’s policy and normative priorities and to suggest what a growing Beijing footprint may portend for the future of UN multilateralism. Examining this via three main measures – the logic, substance, and power dynamics associated with multilateralism – Rosemary Foot and Sebastian Haug suggest the emergence of a UN where inter-governmental control contrasts with more autonomous multilateral bureaucracies; that ensures the primacy of the state challenging liberal values the UN has long promoted; and with more space for the developing country majority with China as de facto leader. An ‘America First’ policy under the Trump of administration further strengthens Beijing’s bid to shape UN multilateralism. The paper assesses the implications of these re-ordering pathways and concludes with policy recommendations.