The Rise And Development Of Shanghai's Re-export Industry From 1843-1954

The rise of Shanghai Entrepot Industry relied on the development of modern entrepot trade of shanghai.Along with the trade flow between Shanghai and other domestic ports increased dramatically,entrepot trade had risen accordingly since the official opening of the Shanghai port in 1843.The development of entrepot trade brought unlimited business opportunities,many businessmen began to try to sell goods between the domestic ports and Shanghai to earn the difference of price.With the further prosperity of the entrepot trade,this industry evolved into two types of entrepot firms which named Banzhuang and Shenzhuang,the prototype of Entrepot Industry had emerged in Shanghai.The purpose of Banzhuang was to make profits on behalf of customers by purchase and sale.Shenzhuang was a kid of branch set up by foreign companies in Shanghai,which main role was to provide services of purchase and sales and intelligence for the head office.Among these Banzhuang and Shenzhuang,the business in southern China was mainly based.However,the concept of entrepot was not popular at that time and the industry was similar in the form of trade to the import and export industry,so the Chinese businessmen called it South China Import and Export Trade.This industry owned the name of entrepot until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.The rise and development of Entrepot Industry in Shanghai was unique.From the origins of Banzhuang and Shengzhuang to the initial integration of the import and export trade in South China to the formal establishment and development of the Entrepot Industry,the development of this industry in Shanghai was quite tortuous.The establishment of the Trade Association of Entrepot in 1946 marked the formal formation of the Entrepot Industry,the organization of this industy from scattered to standard.In addition,the Entrepot Industry had gradually established communication networks throughout the country in the process of its rise and development,which had greatly facilitated the transfer of commercial information between Shanghai and the domestic ports.It also helped entrepot companies to adjust the business of purchase and sales in a timely manner,and promoted the optimal allocation of resources.In addition,related industries like Kezhuang Industry,Waer-housing Industry,Customs Broker and Transport Industry established a relatively complete entrepot chain with this industry to ensure the rapid circulation of various types of foreign and domestic goods between Shanghai and domestic ports,which closed ties between Shanghai and domestic ports and various industries.It also accelerated the process of Shanghai's industrialization at the same time.Although the operating activities of the Entrepot Industry in modern China were largely dominated by the market,but the speculative nature of the industry had ultimately led to the confusion of Shanghai's market economic order.For this reason,after the founding of the People's Republic of China,the business scope of the Shanghai Entrepot Industry began to be controlled by the government,and it had undergone a process of change from relatively loose to strictly restricted.With the rise of state-owned commerce,the survival space of the Shanghai Entrepot Industry became increasingly narrow.By 1954,the industry was finally included in the track of socialist transformation.This article used a lot of archives and documents from the Shanghai Archives,trying to investigate from the perspectives of business methods,organizational forms,business scope of the Entrepot Industry in modern Shanghai and its interaction with Shanghai's urban economic development,specifically analyzing the characteristics of its rise and development process.The conclusion drawn was that the rise and development of the Entrepot Industry had promoted the development of economy of Shanghai and the mainland,and it was also a further improvement of the modern Chinese market economy system.