The distinct nature of Chinese capitalism

There is debate over the future shape of economic systems in Asia and specifically the issue of whether Asian values will determine societal systems. The alternative position that convergence is taking place around democratic capitalism, and that this will lead Asian systems to take heavy influence from it, is considered via the example of the business systems of the ethnic Chinese. Four of these are considered and they are examined in terms of their origins, the way in which they now reflect those origins and the common features which suggest a pattern of determinacy uniting them. The complexity and variety of tracks towards modernization, and ways in which institutions are embedded in societal history, are taken into account, as is the possibility of hybrid systems of capitalism.