Washington had been a buffer against China’s efforts to use UNESCO to influence education, historical designations and even artificial intelligence.

President Donald Trump has decided to pull the United States out of the "woke" and "divisive" U.N. culture and education agency UNESCO, the White House said on Tuesday, repeating a move he took in his first term that was reversed by Joe Biden.

China “calls on all countries to reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism,” Guo said, referring to the 80th anniversary of the UN. The US on Tuesday announced its third withdrawal from UNESCO, citing the organization's admission of Palestine as a member and conflicts with the Trump administration's "America First" foreign policy.