It would have been impossible then to foresee the changes which have transformed much of the Asian landscape. Nine of the world's 10 highest buildings are now to be found in Asia. Shanghai and Beijing have as many skyscrapers as Manhattan. Of the 13 world cities with populations over 10 million, seven are in Asia. From almost zero, the middle-class population of Asia is approaching half a billion.
Japan has the world's second-largest economy.
China has sustained growth of eight per cent a year for two decades. Malaysia is building the first multimedia super corridor, called Cybercity. Walk into the lobby of the Petronas Towers building and you are in an air-conditioned shopping mall lined with international designer stores, almost indistinguishable from any in the United States. In some countries all this is but a veneer. Some have had their traditional rural livelihoods stripped away in the quest for wealth by the new Asian elite, and in the slums of Bangkok, Phnom Penh and Jakarta the new millennium holds out little hope for improvement.