Premier Li Keqiang is visiting Germany and Belgium this week, seeking to strengthen ties between China and Europe.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Germany. Beijing hopes to deepen cooperation with Berlin and Brussels to push for free trade, open investment and global and regional peace and stability.

Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs under Renmin University of China, said more joint cooperation is to be expected in light of US President Donald Trump’s anti-globalization stance.

“China and the EU are the most supportive of collaborative governance, multilateralism and globalization,” said Wang. “The potential for cooperation is in e-commerce and the service trade, and China and the EU have a long list of cooperation in the future,” he added.

Mats Harborn, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China asserted that now it’s time to observe the rules, because we need the same rules to function.

He believes “China has the opportunity to take leadership in a multiple world.”

“Europe is investing much less than China now. If we compare the Chinese economy to the US economy, there should be much more foreign investments pouring into China today with more market access and rules foreign companies feel comfortable with,” he said.