Editor's note: Deng Liuchun, a special commentator for CGTN, is an associate professor of economics at Duke Kunshan University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of either CGTN or Duke Kunshan University.

Game theorists have a simple but important insight: In a zero-sum game, there is often no stable outcome. Players become trapped in endless cycles of moves and countermoves, each seeking advantage at the other's expense, and no one ever truly wins. The only real way forward is to change the game itself.

This is worth bearing in mind as the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) convenes the 23rd IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Security discussions have a habit of falling into zero-sum thinking, where every gain by one side is treated as a loss by another. Yet the world is far more full of shared interests than such framing suggests and this year's dialogue is being held when those shared interests are unusually visible and unusually actionable.

The timing could hardly be better. The dialogue opens just two weeks after US President Donald Trump concluded a three-day state visit to Beijing. Both sides described the outcome as a new framework of "constructive strategic stability," representing a deliberate step back from the near-decoupling tensions of 2025, when US-China goods trade fell by over 25%. It's also reported that China and the US will establish trade and investment councils to discuss tariffs and other issues, and channels of communication that had been largely frozen were reopened.

While tensions over the Taiwan region, technology and the South China Sea remain, the very fact that the two leaders sat down together sent a powerful signal of reassurance to a region hungry for stability. The Shangri-La Dialogue inherited that positive momentum and is well positioned to build on it.

One area where opportunity shines is maritime security. The dialogue's third plenary session focuses on "Asia's Maritime Security Disorder," and the challenge is real. Since late February, Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of the world's petroleum and liquefied natural gas travel each year, has cut shipping traffic to around 5% of pre-conflict levels. Asian energy-importing economies have felt the pain acutely.

Yet here lies an encouraging patch of common ground: China has called for guaranteed freedom of navigation as the shared call of the international community, and the United States too has made a parallel demand. Beijing and Washington, despite their differences, clearly want the same thing. Maritime security at the dialogue is therefore not merely an agenda item; it is a genuine opening for practical cooperation, and a reminder that shared vulnerability, after all, can be a strong foundation for dialogue that extends well beyond any single issue.

The economic case for deeper cooperation is compelling, and the numbers tell an inspiring story. Asia-Pacific economies account for roughly one-third of all global value chain trade, with developing economies in the region more than doubling their share from 9% to 18% between 2000 and 2023, according to the Asian Development Bank.

In 2025, China-ASEAN trade crossed $1 trillion for the first time, a landmark that reflects 16 consecutive years of China remaining ASEAN's largest trading partner. ASEAN, projected to grow at 4.6% in 2026, driven by strong domestic demand, has remained the largest recipient of foreign direct investment among developing regions for four consecutive years, a genuine vote of confidence from global capital in the region's future.

Trade between China and South Korea exceeded $300 billion, built on genuine industrial complementarity: South Korean firms depend on Chinese components while China depends on South Korean advanced chips in semiconductors and displays. Japan exported $120.46 billion worth of goods to China, with China standing as one of its two largest export markets alongside the United States. Even as tariff tensions took a heavy toll, China-US trade in goods still totaled $574.66 billion in 2025 according to Chinese customs data, showing how intertwined the two economies remain.

Together, these numbers share one message: The region's economies are deeply and productively interlinked, and there is enormous value still to be unlocked through greater openness and collaboration.

Game theory offers a useful reminder to close with: Once you step outside zero-sum thinking, stable and mutually beneficial outcomes become not just possible but rational. The region's economic architecture already demonstrates this every day. This year's Shangri-La Dialogue is the right place, and this is the right moment, for the region's security conversations to do the same.

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