538
CHINA
The total carrying trade, foreign and coastwise, in 1925 was divided amongst the different flags as under:-
Entries and
Clearances
Tonnage
Values
Percentages Tonnage Trade
Chinese
88,844
33,002,936 Tls. 1,191,520,310
25.74
29.19
British
36,937
42,942,484
1,148,894,719
33.50
28.14
Japanese.
27,261
35,081,116
1,107,536,831
27.36
27.13
.""
American.
5,608
5,859,851
*
216,747,506
4.57
5'31
French
1,915
2,008,834
""
119,934,161
1.57
2.94
German
604
2,486,057
66,218,316
1.94
1.62
Russian
223
279,287
61,847,315
0'22
1.51
Norwegian
Dutch
Italian........
Danish
Portuguese
Swedish
Chilian
1,937
2,422,556
"
60,410,177
1.89
1'48.
547
....
1,844,326
""
52,474,522
1:44
1.29
1,418
699,837
""
29,802,131
0.55
0.73.
192
556,592
10,260,390
0:43
0.25
1,825
629,426
7,291,181
0'49
0.18
""
172
189,071
,,
4,639,365
0.15
0.11
202
128,904
""
3,805,699
0.10
0'09
Brazilian
21
23,499
470,561
0'02
0.01
Spanish
28
28,964
251,166
0'02
0.01
Polish
9
.....
17,919
""
246,591
0'01
0'01
Non-Treaty Powers
3
966
*
23,823
(too small)
Total......... 167,746
128,202,625
,, 4,082,374,764
100'00
100'00
Mr. L. de Luca, Statistical Secretary of the Chinese Customs, in his annual report on the Trade of China says, inter alia:-
"In reviewing the trade of China during the year 1925, one is struck once more by the tenacity and preseverance of farmers, merchants, and manufacturers in following their pursuits under the most discouraging circumstances. Although the Customs. revenue collection should not be taken as an indicator of the volume of business. tranactions accomplished during any one year, it is certainly very fair evidence of the amount of cargo which has left or entered the country. Business may have been dull, profits may have been small, and losses even may have been incurred, so that results appear to be out of proportion with the revenue collected during 1925; but the reasons for the despression are to be looked for elsewhere than in the actual amount of goods which have passed through the Chinese Maritime Customs and on which duty has been collected. Political unrest, piracy and brigandage, different kinds of local taxations, high cost of living and, at times, high cost production, as well as keen competition in certain articles, have all contributed to reduce profits, to which must be added, in many instances, the impossibility to dispose of imported stocks to up-country buyers. But, from the point of view of revenue collection, the year under review cannot be said to have been unsatisfactory. It is true that the increase on the 1924 collection was only some Hk. Tls. 275,000, but even so small an increase, in the face of all the obstacles to trade which arose during the year, is very encouraging and augurs well for the future. It shows that trade may have been hampered but was not discouraged; that at every possible opportunity it gathered a fresh impulse; that if an outlet to the sea was closed to a certain produce it succeeded in finding its way out by some means or other; and that even if up-country dealers in foreign goods followed a hand-to-mouth policy, still they kept themseves supplied with goods and never allowed stocks to run out altogether."
Value in Silver and Sterling of the Foreign Trade of China, 1892 to 1925:— Year Average Exchange.
1892
...
...
1893
1894
1895
1896
...
...
1897
1898
1899
...
s. d. 4 4+
Imports.
Exports.
Hk. Tls.
£
Hk. Tls.
£
140,298,086
30,544,061
102,583,525
22,333,288
...
3 112
149,928,703
29,517,212
116,632,311
22,961,986
3
3
234
3 28 163,897,525
26,206,530
128,104,522
20,483,379
31
172,853,145
28,268,688
143,293,211 23,434,411
209,106,866
34,851,143
131,081,421
21,846,903
...
...
2 23
11;
204,554,227 30,470,055
163,501,358
24,354,889
2 103
217,761,975 31,416,701
159,037,149
22,944,422
...
280,907,296 42,282,402
195,784,832
29,469,696›
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