Biden warns democratic progress is 'under assault' from authoritarian regimes

President Joe Biden's visceral appeal in his first speech to international allies represented a 180 degree turnaround from the Trump era.

President Joe Biden made clear Thursday that the world should expect a more diplomatically engaged United States moving forward.

"We must demonstrate that democracy can still deliver for our people in this changed world," Biden said during a virtual session of the Munich Security Conference.

"That, in my view, is our galvanizing mission," Biden told other world leaders, in his first speech to an international audience since taking office.

President Joe Biden speaks about foreign policy, at the State Department, Thursday, Feb.

"I know the past few years have strained and tested our transatlantic relationship," Biden said.

"We are in the midst of a fundamental debate about the future and direction of our world, between those who argue that ... autocracy is the best way forward and those who understand that democracy is essential to meeting these challenges," Biden said.    

"We have to push back against the Chinese government's economic abuses and coercion that undercut the foundations of the international economic system," he said