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This paper discusses some of the main shortcomings of the debate on ‘Asian values’, especially as seen from the Asian point of view. One shortcoming is the widespread tendency among Western commentators to link the legitimacy of the concept of Asian values to Asia's comparative economic achievements rather than to see in the intrinsic worth of Asian values a source of Asia's own cultural and civilisational aspirations. Another shortcoming is an overreliance on the perspectives and values of Western liberalism in their attempt to understand the intra‐Asian debate on Asian values between the so‐called proponents of authoritarianism and proponents of liberal democracy. The paper concludes with a prediction, that the rediscovery of universal Asian values by Asian intellectuals and political leaders will have an important bearing on the future development of the Asian values’ debate and on the future of East‐West understanding.