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For most of the history of the United Nations, China was not a major power. The China of today was only given its seat at the UN in 1971. (Prior to that, the seat was occupied by Taiwan.) For the subsequent two decades, China was mostly focused inward. It was not until relatively recently that China has taken a keen interest in using the United Nations to advance its foreign policy agenda.

So what is that agenda as it relates to the UN? What values, norms and interests drive Chinese policies towards the UN? What does China want from the UN? And how does it pursue those goals? What is the future of China’s approach to multilateral diplomacy in general, and the UN in particular?

Joining us to answer these questions and more is Courtney Fung, Associate Professor in the Department of Security Studies & Criminology at Macquarie University and a Fulbright scholar at Georgetown University for Spring 2024. We kick off discussing the history of China’s approach to the United Nations before having a long conversation about China’s intentions at the United Nations.

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