Washington: Joking that the only future for a former Australian prime minister was political exile in the United States, Kevin Rudd has made his first appearance as the inaugural president of the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York.

The institute is the policy arm of the Asia Society, created by John Rockefeller III to build trust between the US and Asia after World War II. Mr Rudd engaged in a question and answer session with Charlie Rose, one of America's most esteemed interviewers, on the future of US-China relations.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd is the inaugural president of the Asia Society Policy Institute. Credit:Andrew Meares

He told an audience of hundreds that he was optimistic that considered policy-making by both sides could see the two nations avoid conflict as China continued its rise.

Although China's military growth had outpaced the United States over the past 25 years – and was intensifying – Mr Rudd said western observers should bear in mind that China had no history of colonial expansion. Rather, he said China's President Xi Jinping was focused on protecting the ruling Communist Party, expanding China's role in regional affairs commensurate to the nation's growing economic power, and building a military that could fight and defeat an enemy with a powerful and sophisticated army on or near its borders.