The winds of change will most likely blow the expats away from China. There are 230,000 Mainland Chinese students currently studying in the U.S.A. for degrees. While not all of them will graduate, you can expect the job market for expats to slowly dry up as these students go back. China is at a point right now where She wants everyone with a pulse and able to work to be undyingly loyal to her agenda. If you did not grow up in her educational system you will be marginalized if you try to go there and make a life for yourself. The only expats who seem to have it okay are the ones who are busting their butts working 2 or 3 jobs and making a mere 1,000 dollars or so more than the average ESL Teaching salary or ones who have actually married into well connected local Chinese families. If you want to become one of the latter ones though you will have to put on a show for others and let them see you as a Tool of sorts. Not something I can stomach with my conscience.

There is the 1 percent of elite, skilled expats who work as engineers or in other heavy industry related fields. They make the same white collar, six figured salary (this is in U.S. Dollars or British Pounds) that they would make back home. But they are a very small minority.