Directory_and_Chronicle_1919 — Page 583

CHINA

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Mr. F. E. Taylor, Statistical Secretary to the Maritime Customs, in his report of the Foreign Trade of China for 1917, says:-

General-It may be fairly said that all the impediments to trade noted in the reports for 1915 and 1916 were intensified in 1917. There was a further rise in the value of silver, the average exchange value of the Haikwan tael during 1917 being 48. 313d, as against 38. 348d. in 1916, which would, under normal conditions, have been expected to stimulate imports and depress exports. While this was no doubt the case to a limited extent, the chief visible effect of the rise in exchange was to cause a great tightness of money, because the temptation to buy gold at favourable rates led to markets being denuded of currency, while emigrants abroad reduced their home remittances to the lowest figure and refrained from ordering their usual quantities of Chinese sundries. The chief factors affecting trade were just those mentioned last year-shortness of tonnage, high freights, rise in prices, and belligerent restrictions. To these must unfortunately be added internal dissensions in China and disastrous floods. It is true that in some directions it is said that the high exchange alone made importations possible, but in others the extreme dearness of foreign articles led the Chinese to revert to their own resources, such as using vegetable oils in the place of kerosene and purchasing very freely cotton piece goods, towels, and underclothing manufactured in their own country. Nevertheless, the war has shown very plainly that the foreign trade of China is no delicate exotic prone to shrink and wither unless constantly warmed by the rays of prosperity, but a hardy and rapidly growing plant that needs but little encourage- ment to expand and is ready to adapt itself to the most unpromising circumstances. Take, for instance, the trade in cotton goods, which is the most important section among imports. Everything seemed against the trade: labour shortage and strikes, increased cost of all articles necessary to the trade, and short supply of wood, paper, tin lining, chemicals for bleaching and dyeing, and unheard-of prices for cotton following upon short crops, sending up the price of piece goods to sometimes treble their normal values. Added to these difficulties were high freights and rates of insurance, and the Army Council's Order that no piece goods or yarn, with certain necessary exceptions, may be packed in cases—an innovation to which it was naturally difficult to reconcile so conservative a people as the Chinese. These conditions have been very favourable to Japanese weavers, and they have taken full advantage of the opportunity, and a prominent feature of the year's trade was their exploitation of the Chinese markets and the improvement in the quality of their goods. Therefore, although British and American gooods may show a decrease, the deficiency was supplied by Japan, and the Chinese spent over 22 millions of taels more on cotton goods than they did in 1916. Metals alone showed a decline in the value of the importations. It is quite plain that with establishment of peace aboard and tranquility within a great advance in trade will be witnessed.

The development of various industries in China must lead to an increasing demand for machinery of many descriptions, and inquiries have been made at the ports for the purpose of ascertaining the kinds most in use at present. For Government requirements machinery is necessary for arsenals, mints, dockyards, railways, and leather factories. Electric lighting is rapidly spreading, and apparatus of all kinds for mining and smelting will be wanted in greater quantities each year. There are in operation numerous silk filatures, and factories for producing cotton cloth, cotton hosiery and underclothing, and cotton thread. Mills for spinning cotton yarn, mills for cleaning rice, flour mills, oil mills, sawmills, and paper mills are to be found in widely separated localities. Works turning out bricks and cement, factories for making candles and soap, glassware, and porcelain are on the increase, while locally made cigarettes are competing seriously with the imported article. Waterworks are being gradually introduced into some of the larger towns, and the use of printing presses is spreading.

Revenue. The total collection during 1917 was Hk. Tls. 38,189,429, as against Hk. Tls. 37,764,311 in 1916. As the average value of the tael in 1916 was 3s. 34d. and in 1917 4s. 318d., this represents an increase in gold of £1,979,903, although the silver surplus was only Hk. Tls. 425,118. This is a striking example of how values are affected by violent fluctuations in exchange and gives some idea of the difficulties encountered by merchants in a silver-using country. Under every heading there was a decrease except in import duties, which were better by Hk. Tis. 964,617. Export duties were lower by Hk. Tls. 160,950; coast trade duties, by Hk. Tls. 48,066, opium duties by Hk. Tls. 28,534; tonnage dues, by Hk. Tls. 128,669; transit dues, by Hk. Tls. 101,921; and opium transit dues, by Hk. Tls. 71,359.