What are the likely long-term implications of this shift to Asia for the cities and regions of Europe? To just 'wait and see' cannot be the response, nor the hope that the attractiveness of Asia will diminish over time and that the economic growth will slow down. Will Europe be able to retain its economic power?

There is a need to think about possible futures for the cities and regions of Europe when industrial production is reduced, when high-tech and bio-tech industries do not compensate for the loss of industrial jobs, when Europe's supremacy in financial services is eroding, or...