China says US withdrawal from Unesco not the behaviour of a ‘responsible country'
China said it has always firmly supported the work of Unesco.
BEIJING - China said it regretted on July 23 the United States' decision to withdraw from the UN cultural and education agency Unesco.
'This is not the action that a responsible major country should take,' foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.
'China has always firmly supported the work of Unesco,' he added.
The United States said on July 22
it would quit Unesco , best known for establishing world heritage sites, claiming it was biased against Israel and promoted 'divisive' causes.
US President Donald Trump also ordered the country's withdrawal from Unesco in 2017 during his first term.
President Joe Biden later re-established membership.
This latest withdrawal will take effect in December 2026.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Singapore's domestic recycling rate drops to all-time low of 11%
Singapore HDB launches 10,209 BTO and balance flats, as priority scheme for singles kicks in
Singapore Local buyers are key to recovery of prime district condo market
Singapore New online channel for public to report illegal ride-hailing services
Singapore Ex-Tanjong Pagar United footballer charged with assault after Singapore Premier League match in Feb
Singapore COE prices for cars mostly unchanged; premium for commercial vehicles up 2.9%
Life The Projector will resume daily screenings at Golden Mile Tower. Is it exiting Cineleisure next?
Singapore Cyclist charged after hitting elderly pedestrian, killing him
Since taking office, Mr Trump has indicated he would pull the United States out of several multilateral institutions –
including the World Health Organisation and the Paris climate agreement – and has launched punishing trade tariffs against allies and foes alike.
China, meanwhile, has sought to promote itself as a responsible major power by expressing support for the United Nations and other international bodies.
'This is already the third time that the US has withdrawn from Unesco, and it has long been in arrears with its membership fees,' Mr Guo told reporters on July 23.
'We call on all countries to reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism and take concrete actions to support the international system with the UN at its core,' he said. AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
29 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Israeli police investigate woman over suspected plot to kill Netanyahu
Find out what's new on ST website and app. JERUSALEM - An anti-government activist in her 70s has been placed under investigation on suspicion of plotting to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, police said on Wednesday. The suspect is accused of having expressed her intent to kill Netanyahu and sought assistance from other activists to obtain weapons and gather information about the prime minister's security arrangements, police said. The National Unit for Serious and International Crime Investigations and the Shin Bet internal security agency have passed their evidence on to the State Attorney's office pending possible formal charges. Israeli newspaper Haaretz, quoting sources familiar with the case, said the woman had recently fallen ill and told people she planned to "take Netanyahu with her". Several people who heard her remarks contacted police, prompting the opening of the investigation. She was arrested around six weeks ago and has been released to house arrest. Haaretz said the woman, who comes from Tel Aviv and was not identified, was suspected of wanting to target Netanyahu with an explosive device or rocket-propelled grenade. In 1995 the then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was killed by a right-wing extremist opposed to his peace efforts with the Palestinians. In 1957, Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, narrowly escaped a grenade attack by a mentally ill man. REUTERS
Straits Times
29 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Rwandan rebels' fate clouds Trump's vision for mineral-rich Congo
FILE PHOTO: Miners work at the entrance of a shaft at Rubaya coltan mine, near the town of Rubaya, which is controlled by M23 rebels, in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo March 24, 2025. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo Moves to end fighting in eastern Congo that are essential to U.S. President Donald Trump's plans for a mining bonanza in the region are meant to get underway by Sunday, but the future of a small rebel group has emerged as one of the major obstacles. A U.S.-brokered peace agreement signed last month by the Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers was designed to halt violence that escalated this year with a lightning advance in the Democratic Republic of Congo by M23 rebels. Rwanda denies allegations from the U.N. and Western governments that it is fighting alongside the M23 rebels to gain access to Congo's minerals. Rwanda says its troops are there to tackle what it describes as an existential threat from thousands of Rwandan Hutu rebels known as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Security experts and diplomats say the FDLR, which includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out the 1994 Rwandan genocide, boasts only a few hundred combatants and is not a significant battlefield force. But the peace agreement explicitly requires Congo to "neutralise" the FDLR as Rwanda withdraws from Congolese territory, underscoring the group's importance to the fate of Trump's diplomacy. Both the Congolese operations against the FDLR and the Rwandan withdrawal are supposed to start by Sunday and conclude by the end of September. U.N. experts said in a report this month that Rwanda, along with M23, is trying to seize control of mineral-rich territory. Kigali responded that the presence of the "genocidal" FDLR "necessitates the defence posture in our border areas". Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Judge asks prosecution for more information on Kpods in first case involving etomidate-laced vapes Singapore Male victim of fatal Toa Payoh fire was known to keep many things, say residents Singapore 5 teens arrested for threatening boy with knife, 2 charged with causing hurt Singapore HDB launches 10,209 BTO and balance flats, as priority scheme for singles kicks in Sport Bukayo Saka the difference as Arsenal beat AC Milan at National Stadium Singapore Cyclist charged after allegedly hitting elderly pedestrian, killing him Singapore Over 1.15 million Singaporeans aged 21 to 59 have claimed SG60 vouchers Singapore Singapore Oceanarium will enhance tourism while supporting sustainability: Grace Fu The U.N. experts also accused the Congolese military of relying on the FDLR in its fight against M23. A spokesperson for Congo's government did not respond to a request for comment on that question, but Kinshasa has said it is on board with ensuring any threat posed by the FDLR is "definitively eradicated", including by voluntary disarmament. It has also accused Rwanda of using the FDLR as a pretext for deploying on Congolese territory. Congolese researcher Josaphat Musamba said it was not possible for Congo to rid the region of FDLR fighters given that M23 holds much of the territory where the FDLR now operates. "It would be feasible if the Rwandan-backed rebellion were not active and threatening to conquer other territories," said Musamba, a Ph.D. candidate at Ghent University who is from eastern Congo and studies the conflict there. Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University in Canada who specialises in Africa's Great Lakes region, said lack of progress against the FDLR could be cited by Rwanda as a reason to keep its troops deployed in eastern Congo past September, throwing off Washington's timeline. "It would be fairly easy for Rwanda to claim that Congo is not abiding by its side of the deal - that its operations against the FDLR are not serious enough, have not been successful enough - and therefore to drag its feet," Stearns said. A spokesperson for Rwanda's government did not respond to a request for comment on its approach to the FDLR. Rwandan President Paul Kagame said on July 4 that Rwanda was committed to implementing the deal, but that it could fail if Congo did not live up to its promises to neutralise the FDLR. APPEAL TO TRUMP Trump said on July 9 the Congolese and Rwandan presidents would travel to the United States in the "next couple of weeks" to sign the peace agreement. They are also expected to sign bilateral economic packages that would bring billions of dollars of investment into countries rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. There has been no further word on a date. While Washington has hosted negotiations between Congo and Rwanda, Qatar has hosted separate direct talks between Congo and M23. On Saturday the two sides agreed to sign a separate peace deal by August 18. M23 currently has no concrete plans to withdraw from the territory it controls. The FDLR has urged Trump not to green-light a Congolese offensive against it. A July 2 letter to Trump from Victor Byiringiro, the FDLR's acting president, said attacking the FDLR would jeopardise the safety of Congolese civilians as well as more than 200,000 Rwandan refugees. In written responses to questions from Reuters, FDLR spokesperson Cure Ngoma said only "a frank, sincere, and inclusive dialogue among Rwandans" could bring peace, though Rwanda has repeatedly ruled out such talks with the group. Trump expects Congo and Rwanda to abide by the peace deal "which will foster lasting stability and prosperity in the region," Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said in response to Reuters questions about the FDLR's future. "All armed groups must lay down their arms and work within the framework of the peace process." The fighting has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year, while escalating the risk of a return to the kind of full-scale regional war which led to the deaths of millions of Congolese in 1998-2003. REUTERS
CNA
29 minutes ago
- CNA
White House unveils artificial intelligence policy plan
WASHINGTON :The White House released an artificial intelligence (AI) policy plan on Wednesday spelling out priorities for the U.S. to achieve "global dominance" in the sector. U.S. President Donald Trump's plan calls for open-source and open-weight AI models to be made freely available by developers for anyone in the world to download and modify. The plan also calls for the Commerce Department to research Chinese AI models for alignment with Chinese Communist Party talking points and censorship. As previously reported by Reuters, it adds the federal government should not allow AI-related federal funding to be directed toward states with "burdensome" regulations.
