China's Global Influence

The Chinese government, while severely curbing fundamental rights at home, increasingly poses a threat to human rights around the world. The government uses its growing global power to pursue economic development in ways that often fall far short of international human rights standards, undermine the freedom of expression and academic freedom abroad through censorship, harassment and intimidation, and weaken key international human rights institutions, including United Nations mechanisms. The UN, governments, development banks, universities, and others should robustly defend international human rights law, norms, and standards that are at risk worldwide.