Growth potential. Relatively clear laws on immigration and foreign business. The language doesn't leave me functionally illiterate (it uses Latin-ish characters). The lack of other immigrants, and general brain drain to Western economies gave me a competitive advantage. Maybe a standard rule of business is "don't do what everyone else is doing".
It was clear a lot of growth was about to happen, and anyone who could reach out and grab a bit of it would do well. Also: why sell tech where tech is common and everyone has it already?
Of course that was good on paper, but the first three years were a disaster. Tried working for a foreign company as an employee, got cheated badly, lost most of my assets, didn't know what to do. The five year plan just came out about then, figured I'd RTFM. It encouraged me to start a tech company, and I am good at tech, so I put every dime in.
Next three years were a disaster too, lost everything. I got wiser though, and things improved after that. The rest is just reliably grinding out work for clients.
I find the quality of life here quite good overall. I used to cough blood in winter. None of that nonsense anymore! Health care is OK. Food and weather are nice, and my neighbors are decent. It's very safe, by far the safest place I've ever lived. Interactions with government have been efficient and cordial. Air pollution and traffic are becoming a bit of a problem, but can't have everything I guess.
Tools from China and reasonably priced local factories mean I have more access to advanced technology than I had in the West. By a lot! I can now access the means of production, and it's pretty amazing!