World trading occurs at multiple levels in three-dimensional space. It goes on within individual enterprises at a micro level, and amongst multiple enterprises within global supply chains (experts now believe the true scope of competition is not company vs. company anymore, but rather extended supply chain vs. extended supply chain). And, finally, it happens between countries (and regions) in co-evolving national supply chains.

I recently spent a week in Singapore at the invitation of their Economic Development Board and got a good look at that country's high-performance economy. I was duly impressed: per capita GNP comparable to Western Europe, sustained annual growth above 4 percent, government support channeled into high value-added sectors. Meanwhile, the streets are lushly landscaped and sidewalks are as meticulously clean as their reputation (you litter at your peril here).

This is all underscored by a world-class commitment to being in the forefront of high-tech info-com. One observer describes this city-state of 4 million as "a single giant data-node whose computational architecture is more than a match for their Swiss-watch infrastructure."

The thing I found most striking was the attention Singapore pays to protecting its critical role in global supply chains. Many Americans, perhaps because of our vast domestic economy which has allowed us to remain insulated for so long, still have a hard time accepting the new reality of world trade. Not Singapore. With China (and India) breathing down their necks, the know the only way they can sustain their economic viability is by staying a decade ahead of their competitors in terms of applying cutting-edge technology to manufacturing, infrastructure and communication.

Take their port. Arguably the busiest in the world, able to handle 10,000 containers a day, average turn-around in a couple of days-and almost entirely automated so that you rarely see human beings walking around.

Or their petrochemical sector, some $22 billion of industrial plant centered on a man-made island created for just that purpose. When I heard that there were dozens of companies there inter-connected by pipelines that enable a throughput from off-loaded crude to refined petroleum to cracked hydrocarbons to final use products-an entire end-to-end supply chain requiring no external transport-I had to see for myself. Dazzling!

What does all this mean for the U.S.? That question kept running through my mind as I interviewed government ministers and executives. They shared a sense of mission when they spelled out their objectives: ultra-modern infrastructure and supply chains, better education and training, advanced technological platforms to coax more productivity out of less labor.

Where in American government or enterprise is this same message being promoted? One hears bits and pieces in various places, to be sure. None of this is rocket science. But what is missing from our national dialogue is the design of an over-arching industrial policy for the 21st century; one which addresses the various elements of world trade-transportation, supply chain integration, and the domestic implications of structural economic changes as more manufacturing and professional services move offshore.

I can tell you one thing for sure. They're talking about this stuff in Singapore!