BEIJING -- Asia should play a more important role in the formation and development of international law, said Judge Xue Hanqin, a member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Xue, who lives in Hague and is the president of the Asia Society of International Law, is in Beijing for the group's conference on how Asia will be inovlved in developing international law in the future.

As Asian countries rapidly develop economically, they are playing an increasingly important role in world affairs, especially in the wake of the global debt crisis.

International law was developed years ago in Europe, and Xue said the "international legal system is still dominated by western influence."

Her exclusive interview with China Daily was her first with mass media since taking the position in the ICJ. Xue has practiced international law for decades in Chinese and international organizations. She was elected judge of the ICJ in June and is the first-ever female Chinese judge in the court.

Reporter: Ma Liyao

Videographer: Cong Ruiting & Lou Yi

Video: Lou Yi

Photographer: Wu Chuanjing

Producer: Flora Yue