[By NBC-1TV] Executive Summary

○ COVID-19 Pandemic: vaccine development news, expectations and concerns

- At this point of December 2020, news of a few vaccine developments (U.S., U.K., Russia, China) is now giving a ray of hope that the pandemic of the century, COVID-19, will subside within 2021. However, now is a crucial time as the current global health governance crisis may worsen the new cold war between the U.S. and China and accelerate competitions for the post-pandemic geopolitics.

○ The former Trump administration’s retreat from multilateralism and global leadership

- The negative impact of President Trump’s past four years of “America First” diplomatic stance, which dismissed multilateralism and leaned towards nationalism, on international order and global governance is expected to be corrected under the new Biden administration. The Trump administration decided to withdraw from a number of international agreements, treaties, and organizations, such as the Paris Climate Agreement, and the World Health Organization under the United Nations.