Eurasian regions are facing opportunities as well as severe challenges such as terrorism and refugees, which require respects and cooperation from all sides, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Friday at an Asia-Europe summit in Mongolia, while also warning that world powers should not stir up regional conflicts, referring to the South China Sea.

The 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit kicked off in Ulan Bator, Mongolia on Friday and 50 state leaders gathered to discuss issues of common interests,  including cooperation on anti-terrorism, trade and cultural exchanges across the Eurasian regions.

Li said in a speech on Friday at the event that Eurasia is facing great opportunities and severe challenges, especially knotty problems such as terrorism and the refugee issue and all sides should abide by the principles of mutual respect and friendly consultation, and explore new path to further promote Eurasian cooperation.

Li said China stands ready to work with other parties to address these challenges and  to contribute to peace and prosperity in Eurasia and the whole world.

Counter-terrorism is among the topics to be discussed during the summit, and it was given renewed urgency by the tragedy of the Nice attack on Friday.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Kristian Jensen, who is in Ulan Bator for the summit, said the attack "gave us more reasons to work together closely worldwide and in Europe to fight against terrorism and violence," and Denmark "hopes we can try to form global partnership."

Open trade

Promotions on open and free trade is another issue to be discussed in the summit.

 "The summit has boosted cooperation on regional security, economy and cultural exchanges during the last 20 years and it now needs to implement more practical policies under new international circumstances," Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

 "The UK's exit from the EU has also added uncertainties to future cooperation between Europe and Asia since the UK has long acted as a pivot for some Asian countries' investment in the EU," said Zhao.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said at the first session of the summit that "I hope the ASEM summit this time will provide an impetus to the spread of free trade in the region, and for inclusive growth and creative innovation," the Korea Times reported.

Zhao said that economic and trade exchanges have become a pillar of Asia-Europe cooperation and the two regions could include more cooperative mechanisms, including the Belt and Road initiatives and China's "16+1" platform with Central and Eastern Europe, to further facilitate development of infrastructure and finance platform.

"The EU's hesitation in recognizing China as a market economy may hinder economic cooperation," said Zhao, adding that ASEM members should be concerned by the emergence of trade protectionism in the EU and should explore ways to further strengthen the foundations of free trade globally.

South China Sea issue

The gathering is the first major international conference since the arbitration in the Hague gave award on South China Sea on July 12 and some countries tried to raise the issue during the summit.

The Philippines Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said that he will discuss "the need for parties to respect the recent decision" during the meeting.

At a briefing ahead of the summit, Chinese assistant foreign minister Kong Xuanyou said that ASEM was "not an appropriate venue" to discuss the South China Sea issue.

Li said in his Friday speech that China has always advocated that all countries should "be opposed to double standards, obey the achieved rules of the regions, and resolve the disputes in a peaceful manner and through political means rather than incite conflicts and confrontation."

He told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the summit that Tokyo should stop hyping and interfering in the South China Sea issue.

Agencies contributed to this story