TOKYO (AP) -- Leaders of the European Union and Japan launched an alliance Wednesday aimed at boosting economic cooperation, defending free trade and countering unfair trade practices as the two sides face growing challenges from the United States and China.

The agreement followed a meeting among European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. It comes just as Tokyo and Washington reached a new trade deal, which places 15% tariffs on Japanese cars and other goods imported into the U.S., down from an initial 25%.

The leaders agreed to launch "competitiveness alliance" aimed at stepping up trade, economic security and cooperation in innovation, energy and other areas, according to a joint statement released by the EU.

The leaders also supported "a stable and predictable rules-based free and fair economic order," and reaffirmed the importance of Japan-EU cooperation to uphold multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core, as well as with other multilateral cooperation efforts.

The EU and Japan also agreed to strengthen defense industry cooperation and to start talks on an information security agreement.

Japan and the EU have been stepping up their security and defense cooperation amid growing global tensions and conflicts, including Russia's war on Ukraine, conflicts in the Middle East and increasingly assertive China's military activity in Asia, recognizing that challenges in Europe and Indo-Pacific are inseparable.