Asia's future: Where lies the path forward?

Editor's note: Zhou Xin is an observer on international affairs, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

In a series of recent moves, the U.S. has once again brandished the tariff stick and threatened new tariffs on countries worldwide, most notably in Asia, including even traditional American allies like Japan and South Korea.

As the global supply chain restructures, the multilateral trade system weakens and geopolitical rivalries and technological blockades intensify, Asia finds itself on the front lines of mounting instability and uncertainty.

Increasingly, Asian nations are grappling with an anxiety and confusion: Where lies the path forward?

The U.S.: An "unreliable partner" insistent on "America First"

Since World War II, the U.S. has long meddled in Asia's security affairs – expanding military bases in Guam for dominance over the Asia-Pacific,interfering in affairs relating to the South China Sea and Taiwan and sowing seeds of conflict in the region.

Clearly, America's Asia policy revolves around forming exclusive blocs, sowing division and suppressing potential challengers to its hegemony. As long as its own interests are secured, when has the U.S. shown any genuine interest in Asia's security? The hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, leaving behind millions of displaced refugees and a shattered nation, speaks volumes.

With the new U.S. administration settling in, "America First" has gone further to the extremes and its unpredictability and unreliability are ever more pronounced. The country indiscriminately wields the tariff stick, sparing neither treaty allies like Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. Sudden cuts in foreign aid are derailing development plans in South Asian nations such as Bangladesh. Its stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict has further chilled allies, leaving them with the unsettling realization that today's pawns may become tomorrow's castoffs. America has presented its selfishness and inconsistency more clearly than even in front of Asian nations.

The Southeast Asia State of Affairs Report 2024 reveals that trust in the U.S. among Southeast Asian countries dropped by nearly 12 percentage points compared to 2023. In June 2025, a nationwide poll by Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun showed that public trust in the U.S. has plummeted to 22 percent, the lowest since 2000. The previous record low was 30 percent, which was in 2018.

China: An engine of development and a pillar of security

China stands in stark contrast to the American way of life. The Chinese people have cherished peace since ancient times, adhering to the principle of "Helping one's neighbor is helping oneself and good neighbors wish each other well." Geographical proximity and historical ties mean that a peaceful, stable and collectively prosperous Asia aligns with China's fundamental interests. Both in the past and present, China has remained committed to Asia's peace and development.

Win-win economic cooperation: By 2025, China has reached consensus with over a dozen neighboring countries on building a community with a shared future. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which has been in effect for more than three years, has significantly boosted regional trade and investment. In 2024, intra-regional trade of RCEP members reached US$5.7 trillion. While the U.S. raises tariffs, China has concluded the Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) upgrade negotiations, expanding cooperation to new areas like the digital and green economies.

Security through dialogue: From advocating peaceful dialogue and political solutions on the Korean Peninsula to mediating the conflict in northern Myanmar and facilitating a ceasefire agreement, China upholds the Asian security vision featuring common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. In 2024, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization expanded again, welcoming Belarus as its 10th full member. China promotes open and inclusive multilateral frameworks, helping Asian nations avoid the trap of "bloc confrontation" and encouraging dispute resolution through peaceful consultation.

The future lies in our own hands

Culturally, Asian nations differ fundamentally from the U.S.: most embrace introspection, as reflected in the Confucian quote of "Do not do to others what you do not wish for yourself." The U.S., in contrast, embodies an expansionist approach, from the Monroe Doctrine to the Indo-Pacific strategy, always cloaked in the arrogance of the "city upon a hill" and self-serving calculations.

Asia must learn from history and reality: that its future must remain firmly in its own hands.

Only with solidarity can Asian nations secure lasting prosperity. The future of Asia must be built on Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness. When countries unite in the spirit of "harmony in diversity" and deepen cooperation through mutual benefit, Asia can thrive as the proverb describes, "if you want to go far, walk together."

Only then can it truly become a development engine, a stabilizer and a bridge for exchange, translating the "Asian Century" from vision into reality.

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