China's Import-substitution Industry And Foreign Trade (1912-1936)

China of modern times was a semi-coloral and semi-feudal country. After the Opium-War, it was involved in the world capitalist market system because it was bound to the unequal treaties The economic exchange between China and foreign countries supplied the opportunity of the horizontal comparison between countries and between production styles, and supplied the forceful means for modernization-starting modern industry and conducting wide import substitution in the field of industry .According to the foreign trade from 1912 to 1936, this thesis will deal with the following topics:the start and rise of import-substitution industry ,the degree of import substitution, the tendency and historical role of import-substitution industry ,and some main factors which exerted influence on the development of import-substitution industry in china.The start of China's import-substitution industry and foreign trade was the nesult of the impetus of foreign trade.Import-substitution industry was started and foreign trade started internal commodity markets ,exposing which was better, internal commidities and foreign ones. It was an important medium for modern industry technology to transfer from foreign countries to China .The profits, made by tradesmen at home and abroad or the import-substitution industry of China . enabled the industry in modern times to develop step by step. According to China Economic Annals o/7936,the import-substitution industry occupied 77.8% of the industrial sect .At the same time the import-substitution industry development had to get machines and materials from foreign counties and hunted for some markets so as to promote the growth of external trade.Degree of import substitution and external trade, on account of determination of circulation by production, the rise and development of import-substitution of China changed the commodity construction of the import and export of China , and this Change demonstrated the degree of import substitution of China industry .In China, the import and export from 1912 to 1936 showed the industrialization in china with light industry playing the leading role developed to a certain degree. Especially light industry with textile as the backbone produced a marked result in the process of import substitution, and what is more, some export oriented results. Heavy industry got started and aquired initial development. According to the import and export value of industrial products and self-reliance of internal markets, the import and expert substitution degree of this period in China fell in four types. (1) Sects whose import and export substitution were successful or relatively successful had the import value of products below 20% of consumation of china markets. These included cotton textile ,flour ,embroiding .enamel, cement , and tabacco ,etc. (2) The semi ready-made products of import .belonged to the departments whose products competed rigidly with foreign ones. These two products each occupied 50% in the internal markets and the flunctuation was great, .such as rubber products , fans, soap, acid, mechanical paper and textiles, etc.(3)Departments whose foreign products were dominant, faced the tremendous pressure in selling their own products and occupied no more than 25% of sales in the markets, such as machinery , electromotors, chemical materials , hard ware, electricity metens, cosmetics, etc. (4) Departments with almost no substitution products till 1936. The products needed relied wholly on importing, such as gasoline, kerosene diesel oil, various bathes ,precise instruments, chemical fibries, new construction materials, traffic, advanced everyday products etc.The trend of import-substitution industry in China. The industry starting from the 1870's-1880's to the eve of the resistant war against Japanese agressors ,about fifty to sixty years had a tendency of its own.(l)Import -substitution gradually charged into the initiative and the planned from the passive and the blind. This found its expression in the progress of the conditions for the import-...