But the tumult is transforming their roles in ways that will forge a continent of economically much stronger countries within the next three or four years. China will become more prominent among the world's economies than it is now, developing further its potential just because of the reforms the crisis is demanding of it. Chinese industry is being restructured for efficiency and the ability to produce returns for the foreign investment that China needs for its development.
Influential scholars see the process as manifest destiny.
China will be the engine for the world. But it won't. By this time next year, a pattern of change and salvation will be visible in Japan's economy. Foreign firms welcome Foreign competitors such as the U.S. investment firms Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have been invited to offer new deals in mutual funds and other investment packages to Japan's household savers. Fearing for the security of their retirement and the safety of Japan's banks, household savers want higher returns.