The 62nd Munich Security Conference (MSC) kicked off on Friday in Germany against the backdrop of deepening transatlantic tensions and an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape.
Policymakers from around the world gathered at the MSC to discuss regional and global security and international order as the U.S. punitive tariffs on major trading partners remain in force, disputes over European defense arrangements persist, and renewed frictions over Greenland are increasing strains within the transatlantic alliance.
In his opening address, MSC Chairman Wolfgang Ischinger said the conference is taking place at a time of "growing insecurity," with more simultaneous conflicts and crises than at any point in the event's more than 60-year history.
"The transatlantic relationship in particular finds itself at an inflection point," Ischinger said, calling it an "unprecedented challenge" and questioning whether the United States still views European allies as partners.
Echoing these concerns, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that a "divide" has opened up between Europe and the United States, noting that U.S. Vice President JD Vance already made the point openly at last year's MSC.
"The transatlantic partnership is no longer something we can just take for granted," Merz warned.
Published ahead of the MSC, the conference's annual report warned of a weakening of international institutions and said the "recalibration" of U.S. foreign policy has triggered dynamics whose full consequences are only now beginning to emerge.
This year's three-day event is expected to draw around 60 heads of state and government, alongside around 100 foreign and defense ministers. Key topics include the future of the transatlantic relationship, multilateralism, global order, and regional conflicts and crises.
Munich Security Conference kicks off with transatlantic rifts in focus
A global poll launched by the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Wednesday shows that the scandal over the Epstein files has dismantled America's image as a human rights beacon and exposed systemic corruption within the U.S. political and judicial systems.
The 24-hour survey across CGTN's five language platforms drew some 9,700 participants.
The survey showed 97.1 percent of respondents express deep concern that the widespread moral decay among the elite class revealed by the Epstein case has severely offended human conscience, while 95.6 percent of respondents believe that the U.S. judicial system applies "double standards" when dealing with the powerful elite.
The poll also showed that 93.9 percent of respondents believe that this "selective transparency" by the U.S. Department of Justice has reduced the U.S. judicial system to a "protective umbrella" for the privileged class.
Meanwhile, 89.8 percent of respondents criticize the long-standing inaction of the U.S. judicial system, stating that this case has severely damaged the credibility of the American legal system.
The results of the survey show that the American Dream has utterly degenerated into a delusion of "privilege preying on humanity," CGTN said on Thursday.
The case of the late U.S. financier and convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein has shocked the world. Late last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released the remaining batch of documents of the so-called Epstein files, totaling some three million pages, with 2,000 video segments and 180,000 images included, sparking serious scrutiny across the Atlantic and in several other countries.
The latest release of related documents prompted the resignation of several political figures over the nature of their ties to Epstein, who died under mysterious circumstances while in federal custody in 2019.
The handling of the files themselves has been another source of outrage, with numerous redactions raising further questions about who is being protected, while errors by the DOJ exposed a significant amount of victim information, including the names and personal details of nearly 100 victims, causing further fury.
Epstein files scandal exposes deep-rooted corruption in US political, judicial systems: CGTN poll
Epstein files scandal exposes deep-rooted corruption in US political, judicial systems: CGTN poll
