The Chinese leader also committed to engage with ASEAN on cooperation in security matters, especially in the field of non-traditional security. The two sides - ASEAN and China - also agreed to increase two-way trade to 500 billion dollars by 2015 and 1 trillion dollars by 2020. They also promised to invest about 150 billion dollars in the next eight years in the region. They said that efforts will be made to start talks on upgrading the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area.

The premier also participated in the ASEAN Summit with eight dialogue partners under the auspices of the East Asia Summit. The groups included the 10 members of the ASEAN, comprised of Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as well as Japan, South Korea, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, United States and Russia. The U.S. and Russia were represented by Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, respectively, in the absence of President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama. Being the key world leader, it provided an occasion to Premier Li to steal the limelight. The main theme of the meeting was food and energy, climate change and disaster management, but regional issues including tensions in the South China Sea did come up for discussion. Other matters deliberated included terrorism, narcotics and other trans-national crimes.

The two-day intensive interactions provided an opportunity to meet a number of leaders in formal and informal settings and concentrate on the region which is vital for the peace and prosperity of China, because it is ASEAN's largest trading partner with bilateral trade last year exceeding 400 billion dollars. The 10-member bloc is China's third largest trading partner after America and the EU. Realizing the importance of the region, Premier Li was frank and candid in his speeches and tried to reach out to all ASEAN members despite having problems with some countries over South China Sea issue.

The hallmark of the meeting and interactions in Brunei was a confident and smiling Premier Li Keqiang who spoke of trust-building, sharing common experiences and building trade and economic links for the benefit of everyone. He succeeded in exercising what has been termed in some Western media a "charm offensive" with traditional calm and confidence. The meetings also helped build the momentum for his visits to Thailand and Vietnam where he will carry the message of working together to face common challenges.

The writer is a senior Pakistani journalist and columnist.

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