Donald Trump breaks US ties with WHO, moves to end Hong Kong privileges as coronavirus tensions with China surge

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US President Donald Trump says he is “terminating” the relationship between the United States and the World Health Organization (WHO), which he says is heavily influenced by China.

In a briefing, Mr Trump also said the US was ending Hong Kong’s special trade status and suspending the visas of thousands of Chinese graduate students — escalating tensions with China that have surged during the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Trump has been expressing anger at the WHO for weeks over what he has portrayed as an inadequate response to the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in China’s Wuhan province late last year, which has since killed more than 100,000 Americans.

Speaking from the Rose Garden of the White House on Friday, Mr Trump said Chinese officials “ignored” their reporting obligations to the WHO and pressured them into misleading the world when the virus was first discovered.

Mr Trump said the WHO had failed to make reforms to the organisation that the President had demanded in a May 18 letter to WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

That letter had given the WHO 30 days to commit to reforms, but Mr Trump’s action came after just 11 days.

“Because they have failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms, we will be today terminating the relationship.”

Trump says China has ‘total control’ over WHO

A person covered in protective gear wheels a body on a stretcher out of double doors. Behind, another is doing the same. — COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Americans.(AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to eliminate American funding for the group — which amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars a year — and blamed China for the spread of the coronavirus and the economic impact it has had on the global economy.

“China has total control over the World Health Organization despite only paying $40 million per year compared to what the United States has been paying which is approximately $450 million a year,” he said.

Mr Trump did not provide further details of where those funds would be directed.

The US is the largest source of financial support to the WHO. Its exit is expected to significantly weaken the organisation and could have global implications on the WHO’s response to the pandemic.

“Severing ties with the World Health Organization serves no logical purpose and makes finding a way out of this public health crisis dramatically more challenging,” said Patrice Harris, president of the American Medical Association.

The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Mr Trump’s decision, but a spokesman for UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said: “We have consistently called for all states to support WHO.”

Australia will continue with its funding commitments to the WHO but shares some of the concerns raised by the US, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said.

“Australia values our longstanding cooperation with the US on international public health issues,” the spokesperson said.

“Australia will continue to be a constructive and pragmatic contributor to efforts to reform WHO and the global health mechanisms.

“Preventing and responding to global health challenges requires collaboration, transparency and engagement from all states.”

Mr Trump has long questioned the value of the United Nations and scorned the importance of multilateralism as he focuses on an “America First” agenda.

Since taking office, he has quit the UN Human Rights Council, the UN cultural agency UNESCO, a global accord to tackle climate change and the Iran nuclear deal.

The World Health Organization is a UN specialised agency — an independent international body that works with the United Nations.

‘Smothering’ Hong Kong’s freedom

Tensions over Hong Kong have been increasing over the past year as China cracks down on protesters.(AP: Vincent Yu)

During the Friday briefing, Mr Trump ordered his administration to begin the process of eliminating special US treatment for Hong Kong to punish China, but stopped short of calling an immediate end to privileges that have helped the territory remain a global financial centre.

In making the announcement, Mr Trump used some of his toughest rhetoric yet against China, saying Beijing had broken its word over Hong Kong’s autonomy by moving to impose new national security legislation and the territory no longer warranted US economic privileges.

Tensions over Hong Kong have been increasing over the past year as China has cracked down on protesters and sought to exert more control over the former British territory.

Mr Trump said his announcement would “affect the full range of agreements we have with Hong Kong”, from the US extradition treaty to export controls on dual-use technologies and more “with few exceptions”.

“China has replaced its promised formula of one country, two systems, with one country, one system,” he said, calling it a tragedy for the people of Hong Kong.

It is not yet clear what impact the decision will have on US companies that operate in Hong Kong or on the city’s position as Asia’s major financial hub, or how China will react to the decision.

Visas suspended for Chinese graduate students

Mr Trump said allowing the students entry would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States”.(AP: Alex Brandon)

The President also said the US would be suspending entry of Chinese graduate students who are suspected of taking part in an extensive government campaign to acquire trade knowledge and academic research for the country’s military and industrial development.

Allowing their continued entry to the country would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States”, Mr Trump said in an order released after the White House announcement.

Sources, including a current US official, said the move could affect 3,000 to 5,000 Chinese graduate students.

The order issued by the President included an exemption for students whose work was not expected to benefit the Chinese military.

China seemed to signal in recent days that it was hoping to ease tensions. Premier Li Keqiang told reporters on Thursday that both countries stood to gain from cooperation, and to lose from confrontation, because their economies had become so interconnected.

“We must use our wisdom to expand common interests and manage differences and disagreements,” Mr Li said.

China has insisted that its control of Hong Kong is an internal matter and it has disputed that it mishandled the response to the virus.

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