In this paper some aspects of the stereotyping of China and Japan are explored by using a sample of articles from a Swedish business magazine. The main objective is to show how stereotypes are adapted to capture new developments in economy and technology. During the years of high hopes for the largest Asian economies, stereotypes proved to be far from timeless and unchanging. Also a large number of metaphors were used to express perceived similarities between East and West, further undermining tradi-tional Western understanding of Asia as inert and eternally different. The recent decline of Japan put an end to this, creating a return to a vocabulary of cultural characterisations and explanations. © 1999 Springer-Verlag London Limited.