For 500 years the ideas and values that have shaped the world have been western. From the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution and into the technological age, the west ruled the roost. But now, at the end of the millennium, the world stands on the verge of change. The next century is being described as the Asian Century.

In the first of two programmes, Martin Jacques goes in search of the secrets of the success of the "tiger" economies of Asia. His journey takes him first to the Guangdong province of China, expected to become the powerhouse of China's economy within 20 years. In Malaysia he examines the social engineering used to build a modern nation from colonial roots.

Finally, in Taiwan, he tries to discover whether modernisation is based on eastern values or whether it follows a blueprint supplied by the west.