China Strongly Urges the U.S. to Repay $4.6 Billion in Arrears!

How Does the United Nations Deal with "Deadbeat" Members?

What Are the UN Assessment Contributions of the World's Three Major Powers: the U.S., China, and Russia?

On June 30, 2026, local time, the closing session of the second part of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly’s Fifth Committee concluded.

Wang Lei, China’s Permanent Representative Deputy to the United Nations, delivered a public statement before representatives from over 190 member states, directly addressing the root cause and firmly urging the United States to settle its massive arrears.

As the largest contributor to UN dues, the United States has long been accumulating substantial and repeated arrears across various assessments—this is the fundamental reason behind the severe liquidity crisis facing the United Nations.

As of February 2026, the cumulative amount of unpaid dues owed by the United States to the United Nations reached $4.6 billion, accounting for over 95% of the total arrears across all member states.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly warned that institutional cash flow is under extreme strain, forcing drastic budget cuts, hiring freezes, and reductions in peacekeeping resources; numerous global humanitarian and development projects have stalled due to funding gaps.

The 2026 regular annual UN budget totals only $3.45 billion, while the U.S. arrears already exceed this entire annual budget.

So how does the United Nations deal with "deadbeat" members?

According to Article 19 of the UN Charter, a strict rule: if a member state’s arrears equal or exceed the amount it should have paid over the past two fiscal years, it automatically loses voting rights in the General Assembly—only if the debt is proven to result from force majeure can the voting right be exempted.

UN spokespersons have clearly warned: continued U.S. arrears could trigger this provision at any moment, leading to loss of voting eligibility in the General Assembly.

This rule only restricts voting rights in the General Assembly, not the Security Council seat or membership status, which inherently limits its deterrent effect on major powers—making it one of the key reasons the U.S. dares to maintain long-term arrears.

For years, the U.S. has selectively withheld payments, using non-payment of dues as leverage to pressure the UN into adjusting policies and influencing multilateral agendas, turning statutory financial obligations into tools for diplomatic bargaining and undermining the foundation of the multilateral system.

This time, China publicly named the U.S. during the full budget session, combined with newly implemented UN financial regulations, creating a dual constraint:

Previously, the U.S. could rely on “paper surplus returns” to enjoy benefits without actually paying; after the new rules take effect, failure to make real payments means no entitlement to budget offsets or refunds, significantly reducing the U.S.’s ability to use arrears as leverage. Many other member states broadly support China’s position and call for enforcement of financial responsibilities among all members.

Incidentally, globally recognized as the world’s three major powers— the U.S., China, and Russia—their assessed contributions to the UN are as follows:

United States: 22.000% (capped at 22% per country);

China: 20.004%, ranking second globally—first time exceeding 20% since 2025;

Russia: 2.094%, proportional to its economic size.

Actual contribution shares for peacekeeping operations (effective in 2026):

United States: 26.1371%;

China: 23.7657%;

Russia: 2.4878%.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1869554348395531/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.