The Atlantic Examines U.S. Withdrawal From WHO, China’s Influence On World Stage; FP Discusses Implications Of Economic Stimulus Package Negotiations On U.S. Global COVID-19 Response

The Atlantic: How China Outsmarted the Trump Administration
“…[The WHO] has had many genuine successes — the elimination of smallpox is probably the most famous — and wields enormous influence and prestige. The removal of American funding would damage its ability to help countries cope with the new coronavirus and fight many other diseases. American withdrawal from the WHO will have another impact: China’s influence will grow. And America will lose yet another battle in an ideological war that most of us don’t even know we are fighting. For more than a decade, while we’ve been distracted by other things, the Chinese government has made the gradual rewriting of international rules — all kinds of rules, in many realms, including commerce and politics — one of the central pillars of its foreign policy…” (Applebaum, November 2020).

Foreign Policy: Foreign Aid Is Caught in the Crossfire of Trump’s Stimulus Battle
“…U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to end talks on a fresh economic stimulus package won’t just have implications at home. It is also fueling concerns that the United States will surrender influence on the world stage. … [T]he move leaves significant doubt about the future of the U.S. global response to the coronavirus pandemic — both in developing and distributing a vaccine and dealing with knock-on effects of the pandemic, such as increased hunger and poverty around the world…” (Detsch/Gramer, 10/8).

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