China nominates health official Song Li to lead WHO

China has nominated health official Song Li as its candidate to lead the World Health Organization, the foreign ministry said on Thursday — confirming a Reuters exclusive that Beijing would put forward a late candidate to succeed director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Song would help the WHO “play a more active role in improving health and wellbeing of all mankind”, adding that the nomination “demonstrates China’s firm support for multilateralism”.

Song heads the Department of Women and Child Health at China’s National Health Commission and has about two decades of experience in maternal and child health policy and international cooperation. She played an active role in national responses to SARS, bird flu outbreaks and COVID-19, and edited a 2020 COVID-19 prevention paper that set national maternal and child health standards during the pandemic.

The announcement came after the 24 September candidate deadline and follows this year’s US withdrawal from the WHO — the loss of its largest donor, forcing a sweeping restructuring that is scaling back activities, cutting senior management and eliminating thousands of jobs. Trump has long accused the WHO of being a “puppet of China” during the pandemic — accusations the WHO rejects.

If elected, Song would be the second Chinese national to head the WHO after Margaret Chan (2007–2017). The WHO will publish the full nominee list — including the six already-declared candidates from Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Qatar, Botswana, Indonesia and Spain — after regional committee meetings expected in early November.