Proposals to reform the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s constitution and governing processes represent a Chinese effort to expand Beijing’s global influence and undermine U.S. agricultural leadership, a group of Republican lawmakers told President Joe Biden on Monday.
In a letter to the president led by Reps. Tracey Mann, R-Kan., and Brad Finstad, R-Minn., and Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., 13 Republicans accused Beijing of attempting to “expand its global influence by taking advantage of America as it transitions political administrations.”
The reform measures, raised at last week’s FAO session in Rome, would extend the FAO director-general’s maximum term limit to 10 years from the current eight, bump the DG’s pay, extend the size of the council and adjust its composition, among other changes. China’s Qu Dongyu, the current DG, is serving his second term, which will expire in 2027.
“America cannot afford to sit idly by – even in a time of political transition – while China positions itself to expand its influence,” the lawmakers wrote, urging the administration to reject any proposal that could strengthen China’s organizational influence.
According to the FAO, the extended term limits will not apply to Qu, however. An FAO spokesperson shared an email with Agri-Pulse that an FAO official sent to certain members of Congress last week in which they sought to "correct a number of falsehoods" about the reform proposals. The official emphasized to lawmakers that the new term limits and compensation package would not apply to the current DG.
“The potential changes to DG term length and limit and compensation package were proposed to ensure that FAO could attract top talent, including from the United States, in the future,” the official said in the email.
Western governments have, however, been wary of Chinese inroads to influence UN bodies, and Qu has faced accusations of more closely aligning the UN organization with Chinese government interests since taking office in 2019. The DG insisted on a politically neutral position on the Ukraine conflict, for example, refusing to condemn the Russian invasion and its impact on global food prices.
A German documentary released in 2023 also highlighted links between Chinese nationals working at the FAO and the Chinese embassy in Rome, reporting that Beijing strictly vets Chinese FAO employees to ensure their loyalty to Chinese political ideology.
Under Qu the organization has also used several pesticides banned in Europe for projects across Africa, Asia and Oceania, many of which were provided by Chinese state-owned agrochemical company Syngenta, the reporting found.
The lawmakers told Biden that the nationality of any FAO DG is not a concern on its own but said that they are concerned by “policy initiatives and personnel appointments” designed to advance “foreign policy goals which pose a threat to America.”
The proposed reforms could be discussed again at the next meeting of the 49-member FAO Council in April and then proceed to the plenary conference in July, where it will be considered by all 195 members.
“It won't be easy to find agreement,” Max-Otto Baumann, a senior researcher at the German Institute of Development and sustainability, told Agri-Pulse.
Baumann, who has studied Beijing’s efforts to expand its influence at the UN, argued that some of the reform proposals are “almost way out of the line.” A measure to update the preamble of the FAO constitution could face particular pushback, Baumann said.
The reform package includes a proposal to add language referring to the “four betters” – better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life – which was a part of the FAO strategic framework but Baumann said is widely seen as Chinese sloganeering.
“Member states will certainly not agree to that,” Baumann said. On the question of extending the maximum tenure, however, Baumann said the outcome is less certain.
“I don't see a strong rationale,” Baumann said, adding that in general, shorter tenures are better for accountability. “I would rather think that they would really check this and maybe want to keep it short.”
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