While most scholarly work on Sino-American relations in Hong Kong during the Cold War has focused on high politics and diplomatic history, few historians have paid attention to the role played by unofficial elites in the private sector. Peter E. Hamilton's Made in Hong Kong: Transpacific Networks and a New History of Globalization fills a void in the existing literature by offering a new understanding of how these nonofficial historical actors shaped Sino-American relations, Hong Kong's development, and globalization. Hamilton examines the transpacific networks and strategies adopted by a group of “mobile, adequate and pragmatic” bankers, industrialists, executives, academics and Nationalist technocrats, which he terms kuashang (straddling merchants). Perceiving citizenship largely as “commodities,” these kuashang sought to collaborate with the imperial system of the US for instrumental and utilitarian reasons. Their activities transformed Hong Kong's economy and society in the post-war period. For example, the local market became increasingly export-driven, complementing the demands of the American market. The educational institutions in Hong Kong were also gradually moving from the British system to one that oriented towards the US models. Hamilton convincingly argues that these informal ties in turn facilitated informal decolonization in Hong Kong and led Hong Kong to play a significant role in capitalist globalization. In addition, Hamilton points out how kuashang manoeuvres in Hong Kong had implications for China's “opening up” after the late 1970s. The book therefore is an important contribution to our understanding of how Hong Kong worked as a nexus, connecting China, Britain, the US and other neighbouring countries.

Hamilton divides the book into eight chapters, primarily investigating commercial and educational activities of these kuashang. Chapter one examines how political turmoil in China and developments of the Cold War, such as the trade embargo imposed on China by the US and the Korean War, led these kuashang to leave the mainland and shaped their strategies. Chapter two explores how these émigré groups collaborated with the US in its imperial expansion through American missionary organizations. Chapters three and four investigate how these transpacific collaborations transformed Chinese-language colleges and later the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Chapters five and six analyse how kuashang utilized their social capital, which transformed Hong Kong's industrial market and role in the global economy. Chapters seven and eight consider how China's economic reforms since the 1970s could be understood through developments in Hong Kong. To track the activities and connections of these kuashang, Hamilton adopts a transnational approach and historical methodology. His work is based on a comprehensive set of primary sources. He meticulously examines archival and published records in national archives, public records offices, libraries and university collections in London, Hong Kong, the US and China. Some of these sources, such as the images and newspaper clippings shown in the book, have been under-exploited and are extremely valuable.

The book would benefit by addressing the concept of kuashang in greater detail. Hamilton argues that since these unofficial elites “were quite commercial,” the character shang, which means “merchants,” is applied to them as an umbrella term. Indeed, lacking firm political allegiance, these historical actors were “opportunistic” and operating flexibly. However, to what extent is that appropriate to deem “educators” and “academics” as shang, when they were in essence not “trading” for “profits”? How did these kuashang of different occupations and in different sectors interact with each other, and how fluid is the concept of kuashang? How the notion of kuashang differed from huashang could also be further elaborated. While huashang clearly refers to overseas Chinese merchants who linked overseas Chinese with China, hua also carries the connotation of “ethnically Chinese.” Assuming that many of these huashang had been trading across borders for centuries and many of the kuashang remained ethnically Chinese, how different were the two concepts? In addition, when discussing informal decolonization, the author could provide a more powerful argument by further explaining the relationship between decolonization and American imperialism. As the chapters have demonstrated, the educational institutions and industrial market were gradually departing from the system of the British empire. However, it might be worth considering if shifting towards a system of American imperialism genuinely constituted “decolonization.” In the educational chapters, it would also be useful to examine the educational curriculum and syllabus adopted in the US-oriented schools, which would further strengthen the claim on “informal decolonization.”

Made in Hong Kong provides a foundation to view Hong Kong history from a transnational perspective. It will be of interest to audiences within and beyond academia, especially scholars who work on the economic and social history of China, Hong Kong and colonialism.