Some people say economic power is shifting towards the East, but is that a new development?

That three of the four largest economies in the world might be Asian suggests that the old world order is re-establishing itself, according to Dr Kishore Mahbuani at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.

Just as Genghis Khan once established an empire that covered more than one fifth of the Earth's surface, stretching from Japan to Eastern Europe, many people feel that China and India are creating Asian world powers once again.

Dr Mahbuani maintains that Asian countries are becoming more confident about their future and that the "Asian Century" is coming.