On October 6, local time, Reuters reported exclusively, citing four diplomats and one insider, that China plans to nominate senior public health official Song Li to run for the next World Health Organization (WHO) director-general, replacing the current director-general Tanderset, whose term ends next year. If ultimately elected, she will become the second Chinese to run the WHO, following Chen Fengfu Zhen.
So far, the nomination has not been officially announced by the Chinese side. Reuters said neither Song Li herself nor the Chinese delegation in Geneva immediately responded to comment requests.
Public data show that Song Li has long been engaged in women‘s and children‘s health work, possessing more than 20 years of women‘s and children’s health policy and international cooperation experience. World Health Organization official website data show that she served as Deputy Director of Women‘s and Children’s Health Division of China’s National Health and Health Commission, and participated in various expert mechanisms in the World Health Organization‘s women‘s and children’s health field. She also served as Director of Women‘s and Children’s Health Division in the National Health and Health Commission, and currently serves as Secretary of the National Women‘s Federation Secretariat and Party member.
About Song Li on the WHO website
Song Li also has a relatively rich experience in international health cooperation. The United Nations Children‘s Foundation previously introduced that when China and African countries were conducting women and children‘s health South-South cooperation, Song Li had participated in related work on behalf of China‘s National Health Commission, and introduced China‘s experience in reducing maternal, newborn, and child mortality rates.
Reuters also mentioned that after the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, Song Li served as the main author of a COVID-19 prevention and control and women‘s and children‘s health management guidelines for Chinese women.
However, the WHO‘s “shifting” has received special attention due to a larger background — the United States has already withdrawn from the WHO.
The Trump administration has long criticized the WHO‘s performance during the COVID-19 pandemic and accused the organization of favoritism toward China, which the WHO has denied. With the withdrawal of the United States, the largest contributor, the WHO faced severe financial pressure and was forced to undertake a large-scale restructuring, including compressing operations, cutting senior management positions, and firing thousands of positions.
At the same time, China chose to continue supporting the WHO and announced increased funding. It is precisely because of this that Song Li‘s possible candidacy has been given a stronger meaning. A diplomatic source told Reuters that this plan shows that China intends to fill the gap that has arisen as the United States retreats.
The competition for the next WHO director general has now begun. The WHO is expected to release a complete list of candidates after the end of the last regional committee meetings in early November. Six candidates from Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Qatar, Botswana, Indonesia and Spain have already been announced.
If China finally nominates Song Li formally, this means that a Chinese candidate will appear in the struggle for the World Health Organization‘s chief executive, and it will also make this election, which was originally centered on global public health governance, more directly placed in the context of the changing international landscape of the US withdrawal and China‘s continued participation in the multilateral mechanism.
For the Chinese side, this would also be the first time in many years to reach the highest position in the World Health Organization. In 2006, Chen Fengfu Zhen, a health official from Hong Kong, was elected as the World Health Organization‘s general director, and held the position from 2007 to 2017. If Song Li ultimately wins, she will become the second Chinese to serve as the World Health Organization‘s general director.