BEIJING, Oct. 16-- Leaders of Asia and Europe, two continents with sharp divergences in political landscape and strategic appeals, will conduct dialogues this week in the upcoming Asia-Europe Meeting 2014 (ASEM 2014).

The two-day event, scheduled for Oct. 16-17 under the theme of "Responsible Partnership for Growth and Security," comes as the two regions struggle in the shadow of economic recession and are beset by political deadlocks over a number of flash points.

These challenges, together with unconventional problems, more than ever call for a concerted response from the summit of more than 50 countries from the opposite ends of the vast Eurasian Continent.

There is more to be expected.

China, represented by Premier Li Keqiang, intends to use the arena to extend the coverage of Asia-Europe pragmatic cooperation, which has till now been largely dominated by trade.

Further efforts should be made to enhance mutual trust in politics and security, and push forward cooperation in such unconventional areas as high-tech transfer, climate change, eco-friendly industries and anti-terrorism.

In this process, Beijing, having promoted the initiatives of Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road to facilitate the connectivity between Asia and Europe, would be a propelling force to enhance ASEM's role.

However, with so many issues to address, the biennial meeting is also feared to face some unfortunate disruptions by a flock of Western politicians, who, with an obsolete Cold War mentality and color revolution impulses, seek to derail the summit with their preset political agenda and pressure countries they see as bete noire.

Such attempts, if indulged, would hijack the meeting into another round of war of words and cheap side-taking games, and frustrate the hard-won international consensus to solve the region's headaches through constructive dialogue and cooperation.

In fact, since its inception in 1996, the meeting has been disturbed all these years by critics attacking its low profile and lack of authority.

Those critics' accusation is far from being tenable as the ASEM is playing an increasingly pivotal role in establishing a more balanced and fairer world order, and in rallying efforts to combat regional and global challenges.

Against such a backdrop, the summit attendees are desired to stick to the goal of improving exchanges in all areas and upgrading the meeting to a more effective mechanism for Asia-Europe dialogue.

That would benefit not only the two continents but the world as a whole.