The Biden Administration Must Fix the WHO's China Obsession | Opinion

President-elect Joe Biden would surely like to break away from his predecessor's legacy, but there is one thing he should build on instead of dismantling—the United States' tough approach towards China. Beijing's mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic, from the attempts to cover up the origins of the virus to the lax attitude in containing the outbreak, has upended lives around the world, killed millions and cost trillions of dollars in economic losses. The complicity of the World Health Organization (WHO) in furthering the spread of this pandemic has demonstrated that it is beholden to Beijing, at the cost of global public health. It came as no surprise when President Trump began the United States' withdrawal from the WHO in July this year, turning up the heat on both China and the WHO.

During the campaign, candidate Biden promised that he would reverse President Trump's move "on day one" if he won. But Biden would be unwise to fulfill this promise without imposing some conditions on the flawed international organization. Understanding why requires another look at the WHO's complicity in the pandemic's spread since the beginning of this year.

Read more