Quelch, after spending his formative years in Australia, where his father was posted with the Royal Air Force, was educated at Norwich School before going to Oxford to study modern history.

There he was appointed editor of the student newspaper Cherwell, having gone to London and persuaded Rupert Murdoch, himself a former Oxford student, to give the publication a life-saving 250 pounds.

"You would never do it if you were 39 or 49, but if you were a 19-year-old studying at Oxford you felt as though you had the right to call up anyone in England," he says.

He has gone on to have a spectacular academic career, specializing in areas such as marketing and global branding.

One of the big questions often posed about China is when it will come up with a truly global brand to rival the likes of Coca-Cola or BMW.

Its best efforts so far have been with consumer electronics company Haier and sportswear maker Li Ning.

"These are important initiatives but as yet they are well short of global brand status," Quelch says. "The brand that makes it is going to be one that neither you nor I have yet heard of."

He believes there is a danger of some Chinese managers, particularly in the private sector, getting too big for their boots.

"There is a certain undercurrent of a Chinese exceptionalism, with managers thinking they are brilliant. 'We know better and we can do anything.' This can lead to a risky hubris. As soon as you fall flat on your face you have to question those assumptions," he says.

However, he insists that a number of Chinese entrepreneurs are beginning to have an impact globally.

"You have got some very smart Chinese entrepreneurs in the private sector making acquisitions and agglomerating large companies internationally," he says.

Quelch is confident that many of the management leaders of the future, whether they are Chinese or foreign, are going to emerge from China.

He says foreign multinationals no longer regard China as an outpost and are tending to blood their future CEOs in the country.

"You are going to see numerous examples of top Chinese managers becoming Asia-Pacific heads and then CEOs worldwide," he says. "One prediction I will make is that by 2020 there will be 10 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies who are Chinese."