map of Asia

The Asian Xiangqi Federation was established in 1978 with the following founding members: China, Hong Kong, Macau, East Malaysia, West Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Subsequently, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei, Brunei, Japan, Vietnam and Myanmar joined the Federation. Because of its geographical proximity to Asia, and the scarcity of xiangqi organisations in the down-and-under region, the Australia Xiangqi Association joined the AXF in 2000.

Since its inception, the AXF is organising xiangqi competitions at international level every year, namely, the Team Championships on even-number years and the Individual Championships (fomerly known as the Asian Xiangqi Masters Invitation Tournament) on odd-number years.