As had happened in the late nineteenth century, the advent of a new wave of China-born migrants and visitors made most of the local-born feel more Southeast Asian, even if some were able to exploit new economic opportunities as brokers with China. China's rise and perceived no border issues created anxiety and resentment, but the protests were now anti-China, not anti-Chinese. The exception was Burma, with the longest and most porous China border. After anti-Chinese riots and military repression had reduced the Chinese minority to a quarter million in 1983, a new wave of business migrants from Yunnan responded to the opportunities of Burma's gradual economic liberalization. By 2008 there were estimated to be 2.5 million new migrants, and they quickly dominated the new opportunities for business and investment, especially in Mandalay and North. The combination of powerful neighbor and its resented emigrants produced a palpable reaction that may be a harbinger of wider future problems.