CHINA
A5
increase, Chinese exports as percentage of imports having grown from 45.50 per cent in 1933 to 87.93 per cent in 1937. In considering the figures for the year under review, the incidence of hostilities must naturally be taken into considera- tion. As previously, the adverse balance for the year 1938 of $123 million may rightly be reduced by $16.5 million of export duty, which should be added to the outward statistics to obtain the true f.o.b. value of the export trade.
DIRECTION OF TRADE
The following table shows the direction of China's foreign trade for 1937 and 1938 and her balance of trade in merchandise with each of the countries listed for the year under review:
THE DIRECTION OF CHINA'S FOREIGN TRADE
In thousands of standard dollars (000 omitted)
GROSS IMPORTS.
GROSS EXPORTS.
1938.
COUNTRY.
1937.
1938.
1937.
1938.
Excess of
St: $ per cent.
Australia
16,337
Belgium
1.71 28,333 2.96
St. per cent.
28,065
St. #
per cent.
St. $ per cent.
Imports. Exports.
British India
12,467 1.30
16,214
3.14 18,126 2.03 5,794 1.81
5,401
0.64
3,897 0.51
24,168
Burma
8,220 0.86
12,801
1.43
0.69 11,791 1.41
4,503
0.54
2,547 0.33
15,579
19,720
2.58
3,506
4,661
0.61
Canada
8,140
17,093
Denmark
1.79 687 0.07
7,872
0.88
7,091 0.85
3,675 0.48
4,197
270
0.03
2,584 0.31
Egypt (Including
1,640
0.22
1,370
Anglo Egyptain Sudan)
Formosa
France
5,444 0.57 3,584 0.38 15,106 1.58
2,520
0.28
2,654
0.32
2,852
0,37
332
2,277 0.26
2,845
0.34
177
0.02 2,100
18,304 2.05
32,643 3.89
French Indo-China
20,402
2.67
2,098
29,991
3.14
Germany
27,351 3.06
12,827 1,53
15,816
2.07 11,535
146,374
15.31
Great Britain
112,939 12.64
72,477
8.64
56,440
111,695
7.39 56,499
11.68
Hongkong
70,606 7.90
80,380
9.58
56,769
7.43
13,837
19,078 2.00
24,589 2.75
162,904
19.42
Italy
243,395
31.87
218,806
9,906
1.04
17,465
1.96
6,840
0.82
Japan
150,432
15.73
209,864
23.49
84,306
10.05
Korea
2,346
0.25
5,577
0.62
Luxemburg
7,712 0.92
4,605
1,267 0.17 16,198 116,547
15:26 6,873 0.90
93,317
1,296
0.48
332
0.04
332
Macao
904
0.09
1,504
0.17
Morocco
5,127
0.61
9,624
1.26
8,120
3
2
8,327 0.99
Netherlands
7,550
0.99
7,548
6,053
0.63
4,640
0,52
14,261 1.70
Netherlands India.
8,170
1.07
3,530
80,718
8,44
45,744 5.12
6,228 0.74
Norway
6,664
0.87 39,080
6,292 0.55
Philippine Islands.. Siam
3,570 0.40
1,220 0.15
411
0.05
3,883 0.41
3,159
3,521 0.39
6,945 0.83
6,703
0.88
3,182
15,833 1.66
24,939
2.79
Straits Settlements
4,111 0.49
6,019
0.79 18,920
and F.M.S.
10,362 1.08
Sweden
6,722 0.70
Switzerland..
9,744 1.02
U.S. of American
188,859 704 45,459
19.75 0.07 4.75
956,234 100.00
7,313 0.82 19,213 2.29 3,947 0.44 8,929 1.00 151,254 16,93 5,491 0.61 57,474 6.44
893,500 100.00
17,546
2.30
10,233
2,650
0.32
588
0.08
3,359
227 231,449 27.59
0.03
148
0.02
8,781
86,863
11.37
64,401
4,915
0.58 31,345 3.73
838,770 100,00
613 56,164
0.08
4,878
7.36
1,310
763,731 100.00
129,769
U.S.S.R. (Russia)
Other Countries
Total
Individually, the order of importance of the major countries for the year 1938 is found to be Japan, the United States of America, Germany and Great Britain, with respective totals for their imports and exports of $326 million, $238 million, $169 million and $127 million, representing an increase in the case of Japan of $91 million and decreases in the case of the United States of America of $182 million, in the case of Germany of $50 million and in the case of Great Britain of $55 million. In percentages the order in the case of imports is Japan, 23.49 per cent; the United States of America, 16.93 per cent; Germany, 12.64 per cent; and Great Britain, 7.90 per cent; and in the case of exports in Japan, 15.26 per cent; the United States of America, 11.37 per cent; Great Britain, 7.43 per cent; and Germany, 7.39 per cent. The percentage of the import trade attributed to Hongkong was 2.75 per cent and of the export trade 31.87 per cent, it being well-known, as hitherto pointed out, that Hongkong serves primarily as an entrepot for Chinese trade. The increase in Hongkong's percentage of the export trade from 19.42 per cent during 1937 to 31.87 per cent during 1938 is due to the diversion of Chinese exports via Canton and Hong- kong, direct shipment abroad from Shanghai and other ports being impeded by the hostilities and the Japanese blockade of the Yangtze River and China Coast.