Directory_and_Chronicle_1931 — Page 732

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TSINGTAO (KIAOCHAU)

only on goods brought from the interior of China, when they were shipped from the German Protectorate to any other place. But in 1906 a new Convention came into force whereby Tsingtao ceased to be a free port, and the Imperial Maritime Customs began to collect duties there as at all the other Treaty ports of China. But the Conven- tion stipulated that 20% of the money so collected at Tsingtao should be paid to the Imperial German Government. The Commissioner of Customs in his report for 1906 commented on the arrangement as follows :-"The principal object of the arrangement, which, moreover, afforded the opportunity of a political rapprochement and material concessions for mutual benefit on both sides, was the creation and promotion of trade and commerce between the Pachtgebiet and the Chinese hinterland. The results of the first epoch have conclusively proved the wisdom of this novel arrangement. Under it trade developed beyond expectation and rose from a value of Taels 2,000,000 in 1899 to Tls. 22,000,000 in 1905, and Tsingtao, the former dilapidated fishing village, grew into a handsome city with a flourishing mercantile community and a considerable number of manufacturing establishments, giving promise of good profits and further develop- ment. Its success emboldened the merchants, foreign and Chinese, to ask for, and the Government to agree to, going a step further and arranging for the limitation of the free area, which formerly comprised the whole Pachtgebiet, to the harbour, on much the same lines as the German free ports Hamburg and Bremen. The chief advantage of this step lies in the renioval of Customs control from the railway stations to the free area, and the consequent freedom of goods and passengers to pass in and out, from and to the hinterland, without hindrance or control of any kind-a traffic simplification from which a considerable increase in trade was expected." The new arrangement inspired confidence in the stability and future of the port and attracted artisans, traders, and wealthy Chinese firms, which last, hitherto dealing with Chefoo, had until now kept aloof from the place. The total value of trade increased from Hk. Tls. 30,700,000 in 1906 to Hk. Tls. 39,700,000 in 1909, and reached a total of Hk. Tls. 56,330,321 for the year 1912, or an increase of 20% over the previous year, not- withstanding the disadvantageous conditions for trade caused by the revolutionary troubles in China.

TRADE IN 1929

At the beginning of the year conditions in the neighbourhood of Kiaochow were chaotic and unpromising. Since the "Tsinan incident" in May 1928 through traffic on the Tsin-Pu Railway had ceased, Japanese troops patrolled the Kiao-Tsi Railway area, and anti-Japanese feeling was at a high pitch. The political outlook was uncertain, and the interior of the province was threatened with serious famine. In the Kiaotung district the remnants of bandit troops devastated every city and village, and thousands of refugees emigrated to the Three Eastern Provinces. With the settlement of the "Tsinan incident," and the withdrawal of Japanese troops in the middle of May, normal conditions began to return. Trade was soon checked, however, by the imposition of heavy taxation. Sea-going vessels to the number of 3,365, aggregating 6,673,600 tons, entered and cleared, constituting a record for Tsingtao. The net value of the import trade shows a marked increase over the figures for previous years. During the first half of the year, when the local cotton mills were operating, American and Indian raw cotton were in great demand, but during the last six months the demand ceased owing to labour troubles and frequent strikes, which resulted finally in the closing of the mills, a state of affairs which applied to the match factories also. Cotton yarn imports were, for this reason, double those recorded in the previous year, while figures for wheat flour compared very favourably with those of 1928, when unsettled conditions caused importations of wheat for the Tsinan mills to dwindle very considerably. The fall in gasolene and benzine is mainly accounted for by the evacuation of the Japanese troops and a consequent reduced consumption locally. Generally speaking, the year should have proved favourable for exports, but excessive provincial taxation had the inevitable effect of curtailing business. In addition, the increased tariff imposed in February by America, normally China's best customer for groundnuts, had an adverse effect on the export of this commodity. Eggs and egg products increased slightly, with the exception of shipments of fresh eggs to Japan. Rates of exchange on Japan favoured wheat bran shipments. A prohibition of the export of copper ingots was enforced as a means of checking the melting of copper coinage.

The trade of the port for 1929 amounted to Hk. Tls. 166,801,328, as compared with Hk. Tls. 142,293,598 in 1928, Hk. Tls. 140,499,859 in 1927, Hk. Tls. 135,694,264 in 1926, Hk. Tls. 126,258,906 in 1925, and Hk. Tls. 132,206,858 in 1924.