The 11th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons opened at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday. Its objective is to negotiate an action plan to advance the treaty's core goals on nonproliferation, the peaceful use of nuclear technology under international safeguards, and disarmament.

However, the United States sought to deflect attention from these critical issues by pointing an accusing finger at China for allegedly failing to pay its "fair share" of the UN conference. The criticism is unfounded and hypocritical as the US has for many years consistently dragged its feet on fulfilling its financial obligations to the UN and other international bodies.

For too long, the US has sought to divert global attention away from its own role as the world's leading nuclear superpower by targeting China through systematic misinformation campaigns. Equally, it has consistently evaded its responsibilities in nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament — a pattern starkly illustrated by the AUKUS nuclear project.

The US' double standards are no secret. As of early February, the US had cumulatively withheld about $4.6 billion in payments to the world body, including its regular budget, peacekeeping operations, and UN tribunals. The US had also withheld more than $600 million in dues to UNESCO. Additionally, upon its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, the US still owed $278 million in contributions for 2024 and 2025.

The huge amount of unpaid dues, most of which are owed by the US, prompted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to warn in January that the UN was facing "imminent financial collapse".

The issue of financial contributions to international organizations is not merely a matter of accounting, it actually reflects a country's commitment to multilateralism and global governance. By failing to meet its financial obligations to the UN and other international agencies, the US has undermined the international system that is crucial for maintaining global peace and security.

China, in contrast, has always fulfilled its international obligations by paying its dues on time and in full. At the review conference, Sun Xiaobo, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Arms Control, rightly rebutted the US' unwarranted accusations and pointed out that the US was unjustifiably making the accusation as a means to pressure for adjustments in the contribution mechanism.

The record shows that China has drastically increased its contributions to the UN and other international organizations as its economy has developed. It is now the second-largest contributor to the UN's regular budget and peacekeeping operations budget, with the percentage of contribution surging from 1 percent in 2000 to over 20 percent in 2025, even though its average per capita disposable income remains markedly lower than that of developed economies.

China has also made additional voluntary contributions to UN programs through funds such as the Peace and Development Trust Fund and the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund.

The US' UN representative's remarks are not an isolated diplomatic smearing of China. On Monday, US Ambassador to Peru Bernie Navarro compared China to the wolf from the children's tale Little Red Riding Hood, spuriously suggesting that its actions in the region hide strategic interests under the guise of cooperation.

Rebutting the allegation, China's Ambassador to Colombia Zhu Jingyang pointed out that the US advocates "freedom of choice" while exerting pressure through sanctions. This was an incontrovertible riposte as evidenced by Navarro saying the US would use "all available tools to protect and promote the prosperity and security of our country" in the region.

The US' decades-long campaign of coercion against Cuba, along with its military actions in Venezuela this year, have laid bare its true colors to the nations of Latin America.

If the US persists in its obstinacy, it risks further alienating itself from the international community, which it has already estranged with its trade coercion and military adventurism in Latin America and the Middle East. The US can restore its credibility by contributing positively to the global community. Yet that requires humility, accountability and a genuine commitment to the principles of fairness and justice that underpin the international order — none of which some in Washington have shown an iota of interest in.