I am rather tardy finding this thread but I have to post because the topic is a great one.
I have bought a lot of chinese paperweights over the years. I bought them because I like the way they look. Their 3 dimensional flowers are not quite like any other maker and make for easy ID. I especially like the ones that have insects, birds or animals in them.
SInce I have been collecting CHinese paperweights for many years, I have noticed that they will change their designs every couple of years so if I see something I like, it's best to not wait to buy it. One year they made gigantic bowling ball sized paperweights. Some were solid colors with bubbles, others were abstracts or ocean themed.
The most beautiful Chinese paperweiht I have is a 3D pine tree in and egg shaped dome with a cobalt overlay and two windows cut into it. It looks very Asian to me. I have it paired with a simlarly sized Orient&Flume egg.
I collect all kinds of paperweights. I don't collect them for their value but for their beauty or their interestingness, though I do have some that are valuable.
It's hard to say whether or not Chinese glass will be valuable in the future. I just know some of it is quite pretty.