Economic factors are also in play. One of most significant social changes in China is that, two decades after the first free market reforms, a definable class of capitalists has emerged that is no longer dependent upon bureaucratic position for its accumulation of wealth. It now holds ownership of considerable productive and financial capital in the form of property, shares and private businesses. Weighed against the local networks of politically-sponsored smugglers, black marketers and extortionists, are the interests of China's major domestic companies. Eight of them rank in the Fortune magazine 500 largest corporations in the world and Chinese oil and steel companies are preparing to list on Wall Street.
Oil provides one example of the conflict of interests.
It is estimated that 42 million barrels of oil were smuggled into China during 1998 and sold at lower prices than those charged by the dominant oil corporations, under conditions of economic deflation and falling corporate profits. Similar situations could be cited for virtually all commodities. The smuggling crackdown resulted in government revenue from import duties increasing by 78 percent in 1999 and unquestionably contributed to the rise in profitability for numbers of Chinese companies. Pressure to control the corruption of government officials is also coming from transnational corporations and Western governments. With China's impending entry into the World Trade Organisation and the slashing of tariffs and other trade barriers, foreign capital will be able to operate with unprecedented freedom in the domestic economy.