Ulrich Bruckner, professor of European studies at Stanford University in Berlin, stated in an interview that while multilateralism is indeed under threat today, "the current biggest threat comes not from China or the EU, but from the new administration in the U.S." He noted that the U.S. is undermining the global multilateral trading system based on WTO rules. Bruckner called on China and the EU, both major players in global trade, to join forces with economies representing 85 percent of the world’s total output to safeguard the international system that has benefited all parties in the past.