On September 9, 2025, the second Financial Review Asia Summit was convened in Sydney, Australia. Co-hosted by the Australian Financial Review (AFR) and the Asia Society Australia, the summit brought together prominent figures from the political and business communities of Asia and Australia to discuss development and business opportunities in Asia and assess potential risks arising from geopolitical shifts.
Fu Ying, Former Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Australia, was invited to attend the event. The following article is part of her speech at the Summit and a special conversation with Jessica Sier, North Asia Correspondent of AFR.
Fu Ying speaks at the Summit.
Maintaining peace and stability in Asia and adjacent regions — fostering friendly and cooperative relations — is essential for China’s own security and prosperity. The focus must be on peace, development and building a community with a shared future.
Asia’s economic rise began in the 1970s, starting with the “flying geese” model. Now China is leading Asia’s modernization, and many countries are catching the tide, bringing Asia to the forefront of global economic and technological progress.
Currently, China is responsible for more than 50 percent to Asia’s economic growth, more than 60 percent of the Asia-Pacific growth as a whole and around 30 percent of global growth. China is now the largest trading partner of more than 120 countries and it’s starting point is Asia, connecting with the world through the Belt and Road Initiative, the RCEP and the China-ASEAN FTA.
China’s rise and its economic input benefit Asia and the world — from large-scale imports of resources and products, trade in goods and services, investment, aid and currency stability tools to deeper integration of supply chains. Now the “new trio” products — electric vehicles, new energy batteries and solar panels, along with AI technology — are reshaping how we produce and live.
Maintaining peace and stability in the region and fostering friendly and cooperative relations, is essential for China’s own security and prosperity. At April’s Central Conference on Relations with Neighboring Countries, the general conclusion was that China’s relationship with its neighbors is seeing its best moment in modern times. There is also awareness that the region is increasingly intertwined with what’s happening on the world stage.
President Xi Jinping reaffirmed that we should work with neighboring countries in community-building through high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, supported by our common believe in an Asian security model based on sharing weal and woe, seeking common ground while shelving differences and prioritizing dialogue and consultation. China remains committed to the Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness which provide a conceptual guide for building an Asian community with a shared future.
Asia entered a lengthy period of peace and wide prosperity after the end of cold war. This is how countries, including China, have been able to make use of the development opportunities brought by economic globalization. We have every reason to make sure that the positive tide continues.
The Chinese government’s Global Security Initiative aims to collaborate with countries in the region to build an inclusive framework in which all nations can coordinate their interests. In May, China and some other countries established the International Organization for Mediation in Hong Kong, dedicated to resolving disputes and addressing differences through peaceful means.
On Sept. 3, a grand military parade was held in Beijing to commemorate 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. This highly transparent display of strength demonstrated China’s ability to safeguard national security and contribute to maintaining world peace. As President Xi said, only when nations and peoples treat each other as equals and live in harmony can we maintain common security and eliminate the root causes of war.
While China has grown in strength, it is eager to play an active role in shaping peace, development and cooperation in Asia. Looking ahead, China’s Asia policy will focus on building strategic mutual trust on grounds that China and other countries in Asia are partners, not competitors, and certainly not in a zero-sum relationship.
With such mutual trust, we can do a lot, including properly managing contradictions and differences, strengthening cooperation in industrial and supply chains, addressing risks and challenges and expanding people-to-people exchanges and connectivity. Peace and stability are the foundation of prosperity in the region.
Australian passport holders currently can enjoy visa-free entry to China for stays up to 30 days for business, tourism, and family visits — one illustration of how resilient China-Australia economic ties have stood firm and overcome disruptions caused by political differences and strategic tension. China-Australia trade measured in U.S. dollars has grown by 86.6 percent in the past ten years. As Chinese Premier Li Qiang said during his visit to Australia last year, “The cooperation opportunities for China and Australia are as broad as the Pacific Ocean.”
This year marks the 10th year since the China-Australia FTA took effect. There is every reason for both sides to make the best of improved political relations to deepen cooperation — in traditional trading areas and in actively exploring new growth areas such as artificial intelligence, medical health, green energy, the digital economy and people-to-people exchanges. China is working with Asian countries to build a community with a shared future and welcomes Australia to join.
When the Chinese people speak about the international order, they are referring to the United Nations. The UN system was created after World War II, with global consensus. While it is not perfect, it remains the only system upon which every country agrees. China has always positioned itself as a responsible member of the international system, actively supporting the work of the UN, and has sent more peacekeeping personnel to hot spots than any other permanent member of the Security Council.
China also supports other international mechanisms, such as the WTO and IMF. Since its accession to the WTO in 2001, China has benefited from trade. When confronted by U.S. tariff pressure, China has resorted to seeking dispute settlement through the WTO. During the Eurozone debt crisis in 2009, China also offered help by purchasing $50 billion in bonds in addition to fulfilling the IMF’s special drawing rights.
The current international order needs further reform and improvement to cope with new global challenges. Based on the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China has cooperated with other countries to create some things of public value, such as Belt and Road Initiative and AIIB. China has no intention of establishing an alternative system.
At the regional level, China has been supporting the development of an inclusive order — for example, by signing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea with the 10 ASEAN member states, and by respecting and supporting ASEAN’s central role in regional security affairs
The United States has long believed that it dominates Asia, thinks so today. However, the way America sees the world does not necessarily reflect the realities of Asia. The U.S. tends to view China according to its own mirror image and logic, failing to recognize the importance of mutual respect and equality. Driven by a mindset of strategic competition, the U.S. has sought to contain China’s development, which in turn has undermined bilateral relations. China remains committed to a stable and healthy relationship with the U.S. and expects Washington to move in the same direction.
Power centers are shifting globally, and China supports an equal and orderly multipolar world. Asian countries are characterized by diversity in many aspects, such as cultural traditions and religions. But they share a common aspiration for modernization and development. Their diversity needs to be respected, and their status cannot be set by any single major power. Many of them have a history of colonization and have a strong sense of dignity. Many of them also have unresolved border issues that are hard to resolve. But there is a common understanding that disputes should be contained and relationships should be kept on track. The focus should be on development, which is their greatest common denominator.
How does Australia fit in the “trilateral relationship” of the U.S., China and the region? First of all, Australians know what’s best for themselves. Unfortunately, some recent articles in the Australian press indicate that some people may still be trapped in old patterns of thinking, interpreting China’s growing strength and policies from the logic of dominance and control.
China and Australia should promote dialogue and exchanges, continuously deepening their understanding of each other’s realities. We should state our differences openly, but not assume we know better than the other about handling their own affairs.
Some Australian media have misinterpreted China’s military parade. I wonder if they remember, when Darwin was bombed in 1942. At that time, China had been under a brutal occupation for more than a decade, and Australia and China were fighting for the same goal. The strong signal sent by China’s military parade is a call for peace, with a firm resolve to ensuring that historic tragedies never happen again. The pursuit of peace should be a minimal consensus for all countries. China and Australia can expand their dialogue and cooperation on the basis of this shared understanding.