A Study On The Measures Of Guangzhou Chamber Of Commerce In The Economic Field (1930～1937)

Modern Chinese Chamber of Commerce is the product of the times and economic change, also the important symbol of the Chinese bourgeoisie initially being formed. In the early20th century, the Qing government being faced from both domestic and external attacks, many significant changes have taken place in its economic policies, and the Qing government was forced to take a series of new measures to promote the development of commerce and industry. In the background of the Qing government actively practicing the "New Deals", modern Chinese Chamber of Commerce came into being in the official advocacy and civil-driven promotion. Modem Chinese Chambers have coexistenced and continued for about half a century across three periods including the late Qing Dynasty, the Beijing government and the Government of Nanjing, and played a positive role in the evolution process from Chinese traditional society to the modern society.From the published research achievements about the Chamber of Commerce History, the time mainly spanned before1928, few views focusing on after1928; From the contents of the studies about Chamber of Commerce, most of the results are more concerned about political participation, urban management, the relations between the chambers of commerce and government, and so on, few specific discussions on the role of the Chamber of Commerce in the economic field; From the view of the case-by-case analysis, most research covered the Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, Tianjin, Suzhou, Hankou. As one of the four-Chamber of commerce, the Chamber of Commerce in Guangzhou has been less discussed. Lying in the social transition era from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, the activities of the Chamber of Commerce often exceeded the scope of its economic functions and usually extended its hands to politics, local self-government, education, public welfare, and many other areas. But fundamentally the economic functions were the main functions of the Chamber of Commerce. In view of this, this paper is intended to uncover the historical features of the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce in the period1930-1937based on the past-press information and the raw files in history, trying to focusing on the economic functions and measures of the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce in the economic fields.In the Republic of China, Guangdong is the most important domestic industry and commerce district and one of the most developed provinces in China. In1904, the Qing government Ministry of Commerce actively advised to establish the Chambers of Commerce in the developed areas across the country. In1905,"Guangzhou Business Association", the first chambers of commerce in the history of Guangzhou, has been founded from the back-up and promotion of the traditional merchant’s "Seventy-two Pedlery Association". The Guangzhou Business Association viewed it as the purpose that "communicating fluently, opening people’s wisdom, promoting incentives, benefit the people." In the1920s by the impact of Sun Yat-sen’s revolutionary situation, a number of chambers of commerce have aroused in the city of Guangzhou and there were so often disputes between the various chambers of commerce that the situation was chaotic. Later, after the Nanjing National Government established, the government issued the law of unified commercial operation, and promulgated the law of "Chamber of Commerce" to restructure a new Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce. The new Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce was established in February1931, ending a chaotic situation. The right of the newly established Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce has been greatly weakened, but it still could act as the representative and the common organization of the majority of industrial and commercial, and played a non-negligible influence and role in the interests of the maintainer of people, promoting economic development and easing the social tension, etc. As an intermediary between the Government and the people, like a bridge, Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce has repeatedly taken communication and negotiation between the government and society, and actively adopted various measures to quell the wave of financial market behavior, maintaining market order, mediation business disputes and other sectors of the economy, playing an important function role and making an important contribution in Modern normal operation and healthy development of the socio-economic.The study on the modern Chamber of Commerce also has positive significance for today’s Chinese society management. With the business organizations are playing more and more increasingly proactive role in the social management and industry self-regulation, making full use of the nurturing civil society forces as the effective supplementary of government functions that not only can reduce the social running costs, reduce social friction, easing social conflicts, and to regulate the market to manage and maintain market order and promote social stability and harmony, have a positive and practical significance.