The Trade Relations Of Hong Kong And Shanghai Between Two Wars(1843-1941)

After the First Opium War,Hong Kong was occupied by the Britain and Shanghai opened as one of the Treaty Port of the Five Treaty Ports in 1843,which was an important event in the modern Chinese history.As important port cities in China,the trade between them was started.With the passing of time,Shanghai had become more and more important in China’s foreign trade,while Hong Kong had played an important role in the Shanghai’s foreign trade by using the“free port”policy,excellent port conditions and vast trade radiation area.On the basis of the previous studies,this topic will use the method of historical philology,according to the existing archives and documents,to study the stages of Hong Kong-Shanghai trade,Hong Kong-Shanghai traders and Hong Kong-Shanghai trade commodities and other related issues.This research project is divided into four chapters altogether:The first chapter is“The Start-up of Trade between Hong Kong and Shanghai in the Period of‘Five Ports Trade（1843-1860）’”,mainly studies the beginning and preliminary development of trade between Hong Kong and Shanghai in the period of“Five Ports Trade”.From the First Opium War to 1860,Hong Kong’s entrep?t trade was in its infancy.After Shanghai opened its port for the trade,it provided new markets and trade opportunities for foreign firms in Hong Kong.The foreign firms that moved from Hong Kong to Shanghai brought all kinds of much-needed elements to Shanghai’s trade,including comprador system,traders mainly with British-funded foreign firms,shipping links between Hong Kong and Shanghai,and major commodities traded between Hong Kong and Shanghai.The second chapter is“The prosperity of Hong Kong-Shanghai Trade in the Period of‘Multi-port Trade’（1861-1900）”,discusses the prosperity process of Hong Kong-Shanghai trade in the period of multi-port trade by combing the historical data of trade between the two places in Historical Materials of Chinese Old Customs（1859-1948）.From the end of the Second Opium War to the end of the 19^thcentury,Hong Kong’s status as an entrepot was formed,and Shanghai’s status as a national entrepot was also at its peak.The trade links between Hong Kong and Shanghai are closer,the trade fields are constantly expanding,and specialized trade institutions appear.Hong Kong’s importance in the foreign trade of Shanghai,the largest trading center in China,is constantly increasing.The third chapter is“The Decline of Hong Kong-Shanghai Trade in the Period of‘Changing Circumstances’（1901-1937）”,analyzes the historical process of Hong Kong-Shanghai trade from prosperity to decline in the early 20^thcentury by searching the documents and archives such as modern newspapers and customs historical materials,taking Nanyang Zhuang’s Jiuba Hong and modern Hong Kong-Shanghai Chinese-funded joint firms as objects.From the beginning of the 20^thcentury to 1931,when foreign goods from Shanghai were imported from Hong Kong,some industrial products gradually replaced the previous commodities.There has been a significant increase in the transshipment of Nanyang goods to Shanghai via Hong Kong.However,by comparing with the total trade volume of the whole country and the total trade volume of the previous two periods,it can be seen that its proportion is gradually declining.During this period,Nanyang Zhuang and Jiuba Hong played an important role in the trade between Hong Kong and Shanghai.The fourth chapter is“The Ups and Downs of Trade Between Hong Kong and Shanghai During the‘Isolated Island’Period（1937-1941）”,expounds the trade relations between the two places during the“Isolated Island”period.From the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937 to the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941,Shanghai became the“Isolated Island”surrounded by the Japanese army,and its foreign trade activities were greatly affected.The focus of China’s foreign trade has shifted from Shanghai to the ports in Southwest and South China,and the main goods originally entering and leaving Shanghai have shifted to Hong Kong.During this period,Hong Kong continued to play an important transit role in China’s entrepot trade.With China’s trade control,foreign exchange supply and Japanese control over export materials,Shanghai’s foreign shipping continued to maintain and other factors,Hong Kong-Shanghai trade appeared a new situation:First,Hong Kong-Shanghai trade declined first and then prospered,and then fell into recession again when the Pacific War broke out;The proportion of Nanyang trade has increased;The export of Shanghai light industrial products through Hong Kong is very prosperous,especially cotton yarn and cotton cloth.Sales of other products exported through Hong Kong also increased significantly.The emergence of this situation has a lot to do with the economic prosperity and rapid industrial development of“Isolated Islands”.During this period,Chinese businessmen played an important role in the trade between Hong Kong and Shanghai.