This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL
[October 10.]
SECTION 18.
[F 3498/3498/10
No. 1.
British Interests in China and our Competitors.
N.B.-This memorandum was compiled in the Foreign Office towards the end of 1920. It has since been subjected to revision by His Majesty's Legation at Peking, and by the office of His Majesty's Commercial Counsellor at Shanghai.
PART 1.-British Interests in China.
THE following notes comprise an attempt to define and illustrate the and to some extent the detail, of British interests in China, the likelihood of their scope, further development, and the dangers which threaten them in the competition of other nations:-
I-Territorial Possessions.
The island of Hong Kong, Crown colony (area 32 square miles, ceded in 1841), and the territory of Kowloon, on the opposite shore of the mainland (area 3 square miles, ceded in 1861).
Population in 1918–
Non-Chinese (civilian population, of whom one-half
is British and one-third Portuguese)
Chinese civilian population—
City of Victoria...
Hong Kong villages
Kowloon
New territories
Population afloat
Total
13,500
299,450
15,300
80,200
93,400
59,650
548,000
According to " Whitaker's Almanack" (1920) Hong Kong is, for the total tonnage entered and cleared, by a very wide margin the greatest seaport in the world Hamburg, and Antwerp (these on a pre-war basis), and New York being all some distance behind. This surprising fact alone is sufficient to indicate the incalculable value of this colony to the British Empire. As the United States Government Commercial Handbook of China says: "The position of the British colony of Hong Kong in the world's trade is unique and without parallel. It is a free port, except for a duty on wine and spirits; it bas relatively few important industries: it is one of the greatest shipping centres in the world; it is the distributing point for all the enormous trade of South China, and about 30 per cent. of the entire foreign commerce of China. The conditions of Hong Kong in its relations to commerce are in every way excellent, and the Government centres all its efforts on fostering trade. The harbour is magnificent and entirely equal to the demands of foreign and domestic trade, while the future is being anticipated by present increased dock facilities, the dredging of the fairways, and other improvements. The merchants, both native and foreign, give special attention to the assembling and transhipping of merchandise to and from all the ports of the world, and with the world-wide steamship connections at Hong Kong, the necessity of retranship- ment at other ports is reduced to a minimum. Hong Kong is the financial centre of the East."'*
* In view of the dominant position of Shanghai in the finance of China, and the importance of Japan us a financial centre, this last sentence is open to doubt.
-521 [7320 oc]
B
714
}