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that this may have an adverse effect on imports from Great Britain, which in 1929 were valued at £1,177,000. The net result will encourage still further the use of the cheaper grade of locally made cigarettes.
215. Chemicals and Dyes.-The most noticeable changes in this section are to be found in the duties imposed on soda products, and more especially on soda-ash, which has now to bear a duty of gold units 0.77 per picul (about 13.1d. per cwt.) as against 0.34 gold units (about 5.6d. per cwt.) in the previous list. British manu- facturers are largely interested in this type of chemicals, and whilst they will doubtless find it possible to meet the situation, the new scale of duties will place them at a considerable disadvan- tage vis-a-vis their native competitors.
With the exception of artificial indigo, on which the duty remains practically unchanged, the rates on dyes show an upward trend, but not to an extent likely to affect the trade to any marked degree. 216. Candles, Soaps, Oils, etc.-Whilst the duties on kerosene, gasolene, and lubricating oil have been lowered, there is a very considerable increase in the rates charged on soap and candles, and here also there would appear to be evidence of the introduction into the tariff of the policy of protecting native industries.
217. In the remaining sections of the tariff one finds few changes of special interest to British manufacturers, but substantial addi- tions have been made to the duties on many articles, for example, crystal-ware, fancy buttons, flasks, rubber goods, perfumery, jewellery, linoleum, etc., and in the case of two items-chinaware and matches the increase is so considerable (from 7 per cent. to 40 per cent.) as to be clearly designed for protective purposes.
218. On the whole, it would appear that with the possible excep- tion of the woollen and artificial silk sections, the main lines of British trade with China are not directly threatened by the higher rates imposed under the new tariff. Indirectly, however, it is to be feared that the extra cost resulting from these increased duties will further accentuate the demand for cheapness rather than quality, and so add to the difficulty of competition by British goods with lower priced foreign and native products.
CHAPTER VIII.
CULTURAL RELATIONS WITH CHINA.
219. From the time when the Treaty Ports were opened to foreign traders in 1842, Great Britain took the lead in developing China. At the present time though Japan is the chief supplier of goods to China, the United States comes second with a share of nearly one-fifth of the total of all China's imports compared with less than one-tenth secured by Great Britain.
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220. The increase in the United States' share of the imports into China deserves serious consideration. The United States has the advantage of being a source of foodstuffs and raw material such as cotton and oil which Britain cannot supply. She also shares with Britain the advantage of the English language, which the activities of British traders have made the general medium of communication between China and the West. We desire, however, to draw attention to another factor, which is of the utmost benefit to American trade with China and will continue to be so in an in- creasing measure in future years. This factor is the permeation of modern China by American culture. We do not refer in this con- nection to the world-wide diffusion of American films and jazz music, but to the much more penetrating influences which arise from the fact that a large proportion of those in responsible positions in modern China are young men who have been educated in Ameri- can Universities, and are therefore strongly pro-American in sentiment. This would appear to be the result of the deliberate policy of the United States Government, which in December, 1908, remitted gold $11,961,121 of its share of the 1900 Indemnity, and the remitted indemnity has since been used for the upkeep of Tsing Hua College and the support of students educated in that institution who proceed to America for further study. On May 8th, 1924, the remaining balance of the American indemnity, amounting to gold $6,137,552, was remitted, to be applied at the discretion of the President, to educational and cultural activities as decided by a Board of Trustees consisting of ten Chinese and five Americans. In the same year, the China Federation for the Promotion of Education and Culture was organised to receive, deposit, invest and apply the funds. In order to promote the pro- gress of science, it was decided to establish some 30 science pro- fessorships in the six centres of Peking, Nanking, Wuchang, Canton, Chengtu, and Mukden. Grants are also made to well known colleges and universities to extend and develop their courses in applied science, the National University of Peiping (Peking), and Lingnan, Nankai, Futan, Tatung, Chung Hwa, Nanyang, and South Eastern Universities being thus assisted.
221. In 1922 Great Britain decided to devote her remaining share of the 1900 Indemnity to purposes mutually beneficial to both countries, and in 1925 a Statutory Committee was set up to advise as to the best use of the indemnity funds. By the end of August, 1929, the report of the Committee had not been acted upon by the British_Parliament (see China Year Book, 1929-30), though we believe from newspaper statements that some action has been taken in the last few days (February, 1931).
222. The lengthy delay has been most regrettable and the advan- tage of the long start thus obtained by the United States was im- pressed upon us on many occasions. We visited several universities
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