Sino-Foreign Rivalry In The Coal Mining

The Pekin Syndicate Ltd , belong to British, began to invest in China from 1898. It mainly deal in coal mine, especially in Shanxi and Henan. Differing from private coal pits, it not only has much more capital and better technology, but also the support of British government. Thanks to public outcry over the Syndicate in North Henan, the entanglement occurred between China and British after the Syndicate had began its working.Owing to lost the 1895 Jia Wu War, the central government of Qing dynasty hoped that better technology and more capital were introduce into coal mining from western country in order to accelerate Chinese national power. However, if the Pekin Syndicate, thereby, would got mining right in North Henan, that many native pits run into operating crisis is capable. As the representative of native pits owners, the elites had an appeal to refuse the Syndicate's application. Nevertheless, the latter succeeded to mining right depending on greasing the hand of the officials and intervention of British ambassador. Because that the Syndicate worked in mining according to British law, it come up against with Chinese pits owners in that the latter often work in term of orthodox habit. The dissension, without modern mine system ravel it out, happened between the two parties, and turned into political rivalry finally. Local official, gentry, student abroad and native pits owners formed confederation one another, and negotiated endlessly with otherwise party including Qing dynasty officials, British diplomat, the Pekin Syndicate. Unhappily, the anti-Pekin Syndicate party didn't win. Contrarily, the Syndicate prevailed, with rendering supererogatory royalty to Chinese government, and holding volunteer commonweal for mining area.After Xinhai Revolution had happened, Henan officials and local gentries launched again the anti- Pekin Syndicate movement, but didn't get a good hand because the new Yuan shi-kai regime thank the thing in the interests of State behalf but local people. It wanted to capture all mine in terms of the new mine law. and supported the Pekin Syndicate in order to please British government. Several pit owners yielded to political pressure from Yuan shi-kai, and amalgamated in terms of the Chung Yuan Company, in succession established Fu Chung Corporation with the Pekin Syndicate. This move actually certificated the Syndicate's mining right in Henan province, formally. As a result of the Fu Chung Corporation's establishment, the Chung Yuan company turned into a competitor of native pits, and was condemned by local elites after the death of Yuan shi-kai. Zhao Ti, Henan warlord, seized the opportunity, and strengthened his control in the Chung Yuan Company.In the 1925 Shanghai Incident, a large-scale strike happened in the Pekin Syndicate, and was supported by CCP, Kuomintang and local elites. Chung Yuan Company, hoping that Pekin Syndicate downfall, supported the strike by opening its purse. In despite of The Kuominjun also joined this movement, the Syndicate didn't collapse because that anti- Pekin Syndicate coalition's demand varied. Contrarily, the Chung Yuan Company was condemned not only owing to its being not afford to the strike, but also the symbiosis between it and the Pekin Syndicate. Native pits expended owing to their validity politically, and got an opportunity to allot mining profit by contracting for a job in the mine area of the Pekin Syndicate. After ZhongYuan War ended, the Chung Yuan Company was controlled by warlord, Han Fu-ju, successively Liu Zhi, the stadholder of Henan newly appointed by Jiang Jie-shi.The 1931 Shenyang Incident resulted in Sino-Japanese rivalry. In virtue of this, Jiang Jie-shi be apt to make the Pekin Syndicate go back work. One the one hand, Jiang wanted British's diplomatic support. On the other hand, he wished to bring sino-foreign symbiosis into Chinese mining industry. However, Chung Yuan Company was reluctant to cooperate with the Pekin Syndicate again. Daokou-Qinghua railway, being controlled by Gaizupai of The Kuomintang, also was unwilling to participate in Jiang's scheme owing to dissidence. Local elites and native pits owners claimed that the government should unfreeze unlawful pits and make them mine freely. However, common countrymen in the mining area, being locked into disaster and poverty, were pleased to see the Pekin Syndicate' comeback, CCP also thought the same so that mineworkers become again its adherents.Along with the rein of Nan king government becoming steady, Jiang Jie-shi intervened strongly in mining case of North Henan. Industrial ministry commanded the Chung Yuan Company associate with Pekin Syndicate, and the two parties was cofounder of the Chung Fu Joint Mining Administration. At the same time, native pits was forbidden to work according to the new mine law.However, because that new settlement didn't meet all the conditions of all circles in Henan province, the Chung Fu Joint Mining Administration still was condemned owing to its not assisting commonweal. Moreover, the debt, Chung Yuan company's carry-over, the Joint Administration grapple with financial difficulties. Weng Wen-hao, being accredited by Jiang Jie-shi, went to Henan and played the part of reorganizing the Administration. He overbeared anti-reorganizers by the franchise from Chiang, and chopped up debt entanglement between the Pekin Syndicate and local people. The mining of North Henan was brought into control of the central government. Pekin Syndicate abandoned its prerogative and became the agent of Chinese government in international market in the anti- Japanese war.