Gilmore predicts that within a decade，there will be at least one Chinese name in the list of top 10 global brands，currently dominated by the likes of Coca-Cola，Microsoft，Disney and McDonald"s.
“It"s an unbelievably exciting time but also a slightly scary time，”says Rita Clifton，the chairman of Interbrand，the global branding agency.
“There is no way Western companies will be able to offer or hold a price parity or price advantage against Chinese companies.”Chinese entrepreneurs are not lacking in confidence either. They believe their companies will soon be rubbing shoulders with the world"s most valuable corporations.
Legend Group，the Hong Kong-quoted computer manufacturer which is China"s biggest PC company，aims to be a Fortune 500 company by 2010. It is planning to sell PCs abroad under the Lenevo name. Current sales are 2.6bn ( ?1.6bn) and it aims to increase export revenues from 7 per cent of that to 25 per cent by 2007.
Of course，Chinese companies are not having it all their own way. Countless Western businesses regularly cite China，with its 1.3bn population and 120m middle-class consumers，as the market they most want to exploit. And China"s membership of the World Trade Organisation should reduce many of the barriers to entry.
Meanwhile，the Sars virus shook the Chinese economy badly earlier this year，when consumers and businesses cut their spending. There may also have been a slight knock to the confidence of international investors when up to 500 000 people took to the streets of Hong Kong last Tuesday in protest at plans for a new anti-sedition law.
“Chinese entrepreneurs are very sensitive to human rights，”says Gilmore.“But the reality is that the world is changing and the Chinese are changing，while doing it in a controlled fashion.”
So what are these Chinese master brands that we should be looking out for? In her book，Gilmore highlights companies such as China Mobile，which dominates the domestic market with 120m subscribers (Vodafone has a 3 per cent stake in China Mobile).
Another giant in gestation is Sina，China"s leading internet business. The Nasdaq-listed company last week said its second-quarter results would be ahead of expectations with revenues between 24m and 25m.
Sina has participated in the recent global renaissance in dotcom stocks and its shares are now trading at levels not seen since 2000. Sina"s market value is 1.1bn.
However，these companies are focused on a mainly Chinese customer base. What about those seeking British customers? One of the biggest to look out for is Haier，the white goods manufacturer.
To get its message across to staff that“Made in China”no longer means cheap，low-quality manufacturing，the company"s chief executive，Zhang Ruimin，recently took a sledgehammer to a pile of defective refrigerators in front of his workforce.
This zero tolerance approach to production standards has helped the company to a 35 per cent share of the US market for small refrigerators (it owns a factory in South Carolina).
In Europe，Haier entered the German market in 1990，which was in some senses a homecoming，since its roots lie with pre -War German colonialists. And like any Western consumer goods company，Haier talks the talk of beating the competition on quality rather than price.
Then there is Yanjing Beer，which is indistinguishable from countless other modish imports. It has entered the UK market on a modest scale，but plans to use its sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to promote its brand with more oomph.
Perhaps surprisingly，Chinese companies also have aspirations to take on the likes of LVMH and Gucci. One fashion name that Gilmore believes we will hear a lot more about is Erdos Group，which claims to make the finest cashmere in the world.
It has registered the Erdos brand name and logo in the UK and the US and has a sales team in London and a store in the Galleria Outlet Centre in Hatfield，Herts. It is also in New York and Tokyo. Its products are available from other UK retailers，such as Lands" End.
Although Chinese brands are in their infancy，Western companies would be ill-advised to ignore the threat they pose. And there is plenty of evidence that they are already feeling the chill wind from the East.
At a recent gathering of British manufacturers，all the talk was of branded Chinese hedge-trimmers that were being sold here at a massive discount to famous name Western products. One banker who was present says：“It was frightening，since no one had the faintest idea how to respond to the threat.”
