The Establishment And Development Of The Open Ports In Xinjiang Since The Modern Times

Ports, in the modern history, are the results of the commodity economy, the function of which is mainly the pass for people, goods and means of transport to transfer from one country to another. These ports gradually appeared on the land of China after the First Opium War. Xinjiang is an autonomous region in the northwest of China, which has a long-standing history of trading relations with other nations. It can be traced back to the old "Silk Road"some 2000 years ago. Yet, the real open port in Xinjiang could only be taken shape in the modern history. This essay starts from the "Regulations of trading in Yili and Tacheng", which signed between China and Russia in 1851. This regulation gave Russia such authority to trade freely in Yili and Tacheng without paying taxes. It is no doubt an unequal treaty on China's behalf. However, because of the weakness and deterioration of the Qing Dynasty, the government had no capability to save the country from declining. So under a series of such unfair treaties, Xinjiang was forced to open up to the outside world step by step. In the period of Republic of China, the ports in Xinjiang still tortuously developed, for the political situation there is not stable. Then it came to the establishment of the People's Republic of China, especially after the Opening and Reform Policy carried out in 1978, the ports, serve as the main pass for China to communicate with the west part of the world, are now putting their...