US Lawmakers Sound Alarm Over China Ties to UN Food Program

‘America cannot afford to sit idly by ... while China positions itself to expand its influence over a body to which our nation belongs,’ the lawmakers wrote.

Then-Chinese candidate to head the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Qu Dongyu addresses FAO members and delegates during the plenary assembly for the election of the new FAO director-general held at the FAO headquarters, in Rome on June 22, 2019. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images

A group of U.S. lawmakers led by Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) wrote to President Joe Biden on Dec. 11, urging the United States to oppose a United Nations proposal that they say could strengthen China’s agricultural position while weakening the United States.

Last month, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director General Qu Dongyu submitted a proposal to raise the profile of his office. Notably, he proposed extending the position’s current maximum term from eight years to 10, increasing its roughly $300,000 salary and allowance, and giving the position more authority in shaping global food and agriculture standards and goals at various levels. The proposal would be subject to a council vote, in which the United States has a seat, before it could be adopted.