Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was in Brussels for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), an intergovernmental mechanism designed to foster dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe.

"China supports fair trade as well as free trade. Without free trade, there will be no fair trade; The trade that is unfair is simply unsustainable; Be it free trade or fair trade, all trade should be based on universally recognized WTO rules," Premier Li said at the meeting. 

This is the latest attempt by China to strengthen ties with its European trading partners.

Leaders from Asian countries, including Japan and South Korea, met their European counterparts at the ASEM with the absence of the US. Washington's tariff war has, to some extent, shifted the global trading pattern and this Brussels summit allows a chance for Europe and Asia to recommit to sticking to the current order.

Europe is attaching great importance to its ties with Asia. It is also of pivotal importance to Asian countries and Asia-proposed projects, especially the Belt and Road Initiative. 

"Multilateralism and free trade are more and more endangered," said Peter Ho, professor at Tsinghua University and researcher at the London School of Economics. He added that "ASEM is the important platform to keep these mechanisms for dialogue in place."

"It is a critical and crucial time for China, Asian and European [countries] to have this meeting," said Cui Hongjian, director of the European Studies Department of the China Institute of International Studies. Both Asia and Europe benefit from free trade and thus are trying to reach consensus on ways to promote trade convenience.

The EU is China's largest trading partner and China is the EU's second-largest. Their economic ties are vital. Nicolas Veron, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said that the overarching issue for Europe is preserving a rules-based international order and keeping everything as open as possible.

Some media outlets portray the summit as China's attempt to isolate the US and reinforce bonds with the EU. Klaus Larres, professor of history and international affairs at the University of North Carolina pointed out that there is no prospect of this going to happen. Europe and China share a lot in common and have been jointly working on issues including Paris climate accord and Iran nuclear deal.

But still, the Sino-European relationship faces challenges, for instance, the disputes on intellectual property rights. Premier Li reiterated the significance of protecting intellectual property rights at the meeting. "Things are moving in a good direction, but there is still a lot of scope for discussion," said Veron.

Europe is trying to strike a balance between China and the US. While attaching great importance to its economic, cultural and political ties with Beijing, the EU is a loyal ally to Washington. Larres claimed that the trade war and the intensifying geopolitical conflicts have put Europe in a very dilemma and the EU has no desire to mediate between China and the US.

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