China has nominated health official Song Li to lead the World Health Organization, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday, as Beijing seeks to expand its presence in international governing bodies.

The World Health Assembly is set to elect the next WHO head in May. That person will succeed Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is finishing his second five-year term and is barred from running again under WHO rules.

China has been seeking greater roles in United Nations institutions in recent years, just as the U.S. under President Donald Trump has pulled out of dozens of international and U.N. bodies.