As UN Leaders Gather, Trump and Xi Meet at the White House
Trump and Xi meet in Washington during the UN General Assembly, spotlighting doubts about the UN's relevance as it faces deep financial trouble.
World leaders are gathered in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly, but the two figures who dominate global politics will meet somewhere else entirely. US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set to hold talks at the White House on Thursday, their second encounter this year, with artificial intelligence, trade and defence on the agenda.
The scheduling overlap has sharpened a long-running question about the UN's place in world affairs. Xi seldom travels to New York for the assembly, and his decision to visit Washington instead drew comment from analysts. Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group said many observers would ask where the real centre of decision-making now lies.
Such doubts are not new, but they have taken on greater weight as the organisation confronts mounting financial strain and persistent divisions among major powers. The UN has cut its Secretariat budget by 9.2% for 2026, shed thousands of posts, withdrawn peacekeepers and scaled back humanitarian and human rights work.
Washington's arrears are a central part of the problem. The Trump administration paid $725 million toward the regular budget last week, preserving its assembly vote, but still owes $1.3 billion for the regular budget and $2.9 billion for peacekeeping, according to the UN.
In his address on Tuesday, Trump accused the UN of imposing what he called a far-left globalist agenda, and criticised its Human Rights Council and UNESCO. The UN has defended both bodies, saying the council plays an important role in protecting human rights and that UNESCO's work is widely acclaimed.
Beyond money, the Security Council remains largely deadlocked, with veto-wielding members including the US, China and Russia rarely finding common ground. Eugene Chen, a former UN official, said the financial crisis is tied to a broader disagreement among member states over what the institution should be.
Outgoing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres launched a reform task force last year, known as UN80, aimed at cutting costs, reducing duplication and shifting jobs away from expensive hubs such as New York and Geneva. It includes a 21% reduction in Secretariat posts and a review of more than 600 series of mandated reports.
Even so, the assembly week remains a busy diplomatic marketplace, with more than 1,000 bilateral meetings planned. Iranian and US envoys communicated through mediators on Tuesday, the first such contacts since an interim ceasefire collapsed in July. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy held talks with Trump on ending the war with Russia, and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the UN remained relevant even as she faulted it for being paralysed on conflict prevention. Asked whether years of UN meetings had produced results, Zelenskiy said the forum at least allows leaders to meet.