Foreign Minister Penny Wong took questions from The Australian Financial Review’s editor Cosima Marriner.

The first was on why companies are so reluctant to invest in South-East Asia.

Wong said she asked former Macquarie boss Nicholas Moore – architect of the recent Australian South-East Asian investment strategy – “I said, you know how to make money, how can we shift the dial?” Wong said.

“My great fear is that if this trend continues, we will have a diminishing share of a growing market. It’s not good for our geopolitics or our prosperity.”

Wong then addressed the recent cap on international students affecting universities across Australia and whether that undermines the government’s message about unity in the region. “I don’t agree, we still take a large number of international students,” she said.

On how China can be a force for stability in the region, rather than a source of tension, Wong said the country was doing what great powers do.

“They’re seeking to assert their interests,” she said. “There are times when those interests don’t accord with ours so there’s disagreement, just like there are times of agreement.”

Wong said the future of this new “stable” relationship between China and Australia allowed for managing those differences, rather than any profound change in the relationship.

“The world has changed. Our differences aren’t going to disappear by pretending they’re not there. Neither do we have the option of pretending China’s not a great power,” she said.

“This environment means we can continue the engagement and manage those differences. We also want to encourage as much dialogue between China and the US as possible.

On whether a change in the US presidency would influence how Australia manages the relationship: “The US still remains indispensable to the regional imbalance I’ve described,” Wong said.

“We’ve worked with whoever is in the Oval Office and they’ve worked with whoever’s in the Lodge. I’m sure that will continue.”