A New Exploration Of Shanxi Mine Case Negotiation In Late Qing Dynasty

The Shanxi mining case in the late Qing Dynasty is an important historical event in modern Chinese economic history.The negotiation on the Shanxi mining case reflects the ambivalence between the central government,the local government and the local elite in safeguarding sovereignty and opening to the outside world.After the First Sino-Japanese War,the Qing government regarded the establishment of mining with foreign capital as an important way to solve the financial crisis.In order to maintain its advantages in China,Britain set up the Fu company,which intended to develop Shanxi and Henan minerals.Under the activity of compror Liu E,Hu Pinzhi approved the "Applying for the Mining Regulations of Shanxi Province ",which enabled Fu Company to Successfully obtain the mineral exploitation right of Yu country,Pingding country,Zezhou and Luzhou in Shanxi,Most of the bureaucrats represented by supervising censors regarded the cooperation between Shanxi local government and Fu Company as economic plunder.They hoped that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would act as the defender of local interests and cancel Fu Company’s mining right in Shanxi.Under the subjective willingness of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to make profit from mining and the diplomatic pressure of the British Minister in China,the "Shanxi Mining and Iron Production and Transshipment of Various Minerals Regulations" were approved.Fu Company not only obtained the coal and iron mining right that have been acquired,but also obtained the mineral mining right belonging to Pingyang.As a result,the Qing Dynasty lost even more power and benefits.At the beginning of the 20th century,the repeated negotiations between the central and local governments around Shanxi mining rights and Fu Company were a manifestation of pursuing economic autonomy in the context of safeguarding national sovereignty.Since it is difficult for China to completely get rid of the penetration of foreign enterprises into China’s mining industry,the economic autonomy pursued by the central government can only be expressed in a limited way as the pursuit of profit maximization,that is,"sino-foreign joint venture".From 1903 to 1905,the negotiation between Sheng Xuanhuai and Fu Company centered on the joint operation of coal and iron.The "sino-foreign joint venture" is the limited protection of Shanxi mining rights by the central government.The local people in Shanxi do not want Fu Company to directly participate in the distribution of Shanxi mining interests,so they are more inclined to take "right" as the weapon of public opinion and realize self management after the contract is abolished.The complexity of the Shanxi mining case lies in the multiple negotiations caused by the changes of interest demands of governments at all levels and local elites.By exploring the tendency between the central government and the local government in borrowing foreign capital and safeguarding sovereignty,we can clarify the reactions of different interest groups in the issue of mining rights negotiation.