US rejoins UNESCO, reportedly to check China's influence

The United States rejoined UNESCO five years after withdrawing from it in 2018. The move is related to reports that the United States, which is competing with China for leadership in advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), has returned to check China's influence in international scientific organizations.

After a vote by member countries held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France on Friday (local time), 132 out of 157 countries (a total of 193 member countries) voted in favor of the United States' re-entry into UNESCO. Ten countries, including China, Russia, and North Korea, opposed the idea. The decision came 22 days after the Joe Biden administration submitted an application for re-entry on the 8th of last month.

The U.S. is believed to be returning to UNESCO to avoid giving the lead to China in the race to generative AI regulations. This is because the report prepared by UNESCO affects the blueprint for AI technology development and regulatory policies envisioned by major countries around the world, such as the United States and the European Union. UNESCO issued a related recommendation on June 15 request by the leaders of the seven major countries (G7) promoting the introduction of AI regulations.” Bart W. Édes, a distinguished fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, told Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP), “The U.S. is paying attention to AI-related discussions held at UNESCO. It may have rejoined UNESCO to compete with China.”

The U.S.-China rivalry is also evident in UNESCO’s contributions. As a condition of the re-entry, the US decided to pay 619 million U.S. dollars in arrears between 2011 and 2018 in installments. From November 2011, when UNESCO granted membership to Palestine, until 2018, when the U.S. withdrew from UNESCO, citing the international organization's anti-Israel bias, the U.S. failed to pay its contributions, based on the U.S. laws prohibiting financial assistance to organizations recognizing Palestine as a state.

During the absence of the United States, China's influence at UNESCO grew. China, which contributed 8% of UNESCO's total share in 2017, increased its share every year, contributing up to 20% this year, making it the member economy that paid the most. China was followed by Japan (10%) and Germany (8%). After the re-entry, the U.S. decided to pay 22% of the total UNESCO contributions.


asap@donga.com