Market reforms in China have transformed relations between the mainland and its expatriate capitalist class, which is returning to participate in the country’s economic resurgence. The comprador capitalism that China exported throughout East Asia is coming to an end, and with it the subservience of Chinese business to foreign capital. The transformation of China’s relationship to its expatriate trading class is changing even the geography of the country. China has assimilated the foreign-ruled outposts on its borders Hong Kong and Macao and shifted the center of economic gravity to the southeastern coastal regions.
