If we were to look at all the actors on the Asian financial crisis drama, we cannot ignore the role of Japan. But on a global scale, the real superpower is undisputedly the United States. In 1996 the U.S. GDP was US$7.8 trillion, nearly 60 percent larger than Japan's and nine times larger than China. Asia's rise and fall had a lot to do with the United States, as the single largest Asian trading partner. Asia relied so much on the U.S. economy that it used to be said that if the United States were to sneeze, Japan would catch a cold and the rest of Asia would catch pneumonia.

The world was fortunate that when Asia got into trouble in 1997, the U.S. economy was strong and prosperous. In 1950 the United States accounted for over 27 percent of world GDP and as much as 38 percent of world exports. In the postwar era, the United States was such a dominant economic and military power that the U.S. dollar accounted for more than 55 percent of global transactions. Like Rome, all roads lead to Washington, where the Federal Reserve System, the World Bank and the IMF are based. The World Bank and IMF were established in 1944 under the Bretton Woods Agreements that created the international financial order after the Second World War.