Elise Stefanik, Trump’s UN ambassador pick, vows to counter China’s ‘significant inroads’

New York congresswoman at Senate confirmation hearing outlines plans to vie with Beijing’s ‘whole-of-government approach’ to building sway

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US congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican, testifies in Washington on Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on her nomination to be US ambassador to the United Nations. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Published: 6:30am, 22 Jan 2025

Elise Stefanik, US President Donald Trump’s choice to serve as America’s top envoy to the United Nations, has vowed to counter China’s ascendant influence and “significant inroads” at the intergovernmental body.

At her Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday to serve as US ambassador to the UN, the Republican congresswoman from New York outlined plans to push back against what she described as China’s systematic efforts to expand its presence in UN agencies and gain support among developing countries.

“China has made significant inroads within the Global South and even within the Western hemisphere,” she testified. “They’ve done it by building ports. They’ve done it through telecoms. It’s really been a whole-of-government approach.”

Stefanik pledged to focus on “ensuring US taxpayer dollars support well-functioning UN entities” while advancing strategies to vie with Beijing’s infrastructure investments across the developing world.

Asked about comprehensive reform at the Security Council, a powerful UN body in which the US has veto power, she did not commit to advocating for the inclusion of members from the Global South, an idea floated by the Joe Biden administration.