China Nominates Song Li for WHO Chief as Beijing Enters Global Leadership Race

China has nominated senior health official Song Li as its candidate to become the next Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), putting Beijing directly into the race to lead the UN health agency.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed the nomination on Thursday, saying Beijing believes Song’s leadership could help the WHO play a stronger role in improving global health and wellbeing. China described the move as a demonstration of its support for multilateralism.

Song is a senior public health official specialising in maternal and child health. She currently heads the Department of Women and Child Health at China’s National Health Commission and has more than two decades of experience in health policy and international cooperation.

Her work has included involvement in policies and regulations covering women’s and children’s health, including prenatal diagnosis and assisted reproductive technology. She has also contributed to China’s response to major public health challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Song’s nomination comes as the WHO prepares to choose a successor to incumbent Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Tedros began his second five-year term in August 2022, which ends on August 15, 2027, and WHO rules allow a director-general to serve a maximum of two terms.

The nomination also comes amid a major shift in the global health agency’s funding and political landscape following the United States’ withdrawal from the WHO. China has increased its engagement with the organisation, while Beijing has previously faced criticism over its influence within global health institutions.

Song joins candidates from Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Qatar, Indonesia, Botswana and Spain in the leadership contest. The WHO says the full list of candidates will be published after the final regional committee meetings, with the first candidates’ forum scheduled for November 18, 2026.

The WHO Executive Board is expected to shortlist and nominate up to three candidates in January 2027, before the World Health Assembly makes the final appointment in May 2027. If elected, Song would become only the second Chinese national to head the organisation after Margaret Chan, who served as director-general from 2007 to 2017.