The Trump administration is making a last-ditch attempt to counter Beijing’s rising influence at the UN by trying to persuade member states not to vote for the Chinese frontrunner to lead the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

The US is lobbying Wipo’s 83 eligible member states to vote for Darren Tang, a Singaporean candidate standing against Wang Binying, a former Beijing trademark official who is already working for Wipo as a deputy director.

A senior Trump administration official told the Financial Times that China’s own campaign to rally support for Ms Wang to become director-general “reflects its broader strategy to increase its influence in international organisations and to gain control over the United Nation’s standards-setting bodies”.