Prior to China, I spent two days in Tokyo at the tail end of the Cherry Blossom season and wondered at the huge opportunity lost by this country and also the elegance and work ethic that created the opportunity in the first place. Japan is still one of my favourite countries and as a succession of business meetings started and finished at the exact pre-determined time and the efficiency of the train systems made multiple conversations, from Shibuya to Kawasaki to Osaka to Asakusa happen with precision, it was easy to discover the attention to detail that makes the Japanese such a pleasure to deal with. However, the precision at the periphery does not conceal the problem that persists with the dogmas of a civilization that remains incredibly wealthy but refuses to be nimble and adapt to the realities of globalization. No wonder then that it remains one of the toughest markets for the Indian software sector to build growth businesses. Clearly a legendary economic power of yesterday that will need some rude economic shocks to find a way out of a two decade recession! Sipping sake and sampling an exclusive array of Japanese dishes with business school buddies at a Sakura garden that evening, even my Japanese friends were in agreement that the next generation should face the challenge and give new direction to the country.

No such problems in China though – Friday night partying in Shanghai’s bustling downtown reveals an energy that would put many of the world’s hot spots, from New York to Barcelona to Paris in the shade with the latest electronic gadgetry and haute couture on display as the Chinese youth demonstrate the new found confidence of a post recession nation that now knows it is unstoppable. At the signing ceremony for Zensar’s fifth Global development center at Baoshan in Shanghai, the Government officials from all three centres – Beijing Shanghai and Baoshan who were present were polite and helpful but by no means obsequious, fully aware that a Chinese presence was now an integral part of any firm’s global presence. The scale of infrastructure buildup in Shanghai and many other cities of the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas is an oft repeated story, but the revelation for me and possibly a comparison point between the three countries of Japan, China and India is this confidence that prevails in the top ten and more cities of China – here is a country that has arrived in every sense of the term and they are willing to show it!