FUZHOU – THE TREATY PORT IN THE SYSTEM OF RUSSIA-CHINESE TRADE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Abstract

The article analyzes the role of Fuzhou in the system of Russian-Chinese trade relations. In 1842, the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of Nanking mentioned Fuzhou among the five treaty ports opened to the foreign trade. But the organization of the tea trade in the port began only after 1855. During the 1850s – 1870s, Fuzhou was one of the main Chinese tea markets. During that time, several Russian trade firms operated in the port. The article describes the role of Fuzhou in the system of Russian-Chinese trade relations. The primary sources of article are the materials from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire. The documents of Russian consuls show that the organization of Russian trade in Fuzhou had several features. Russian firms established several brick-tea factories in the interior of the Fujian province. Some of the Russian factories used steam-powered machines to mold the tea bricks. Russian merchants learned the Chinese language and operated without compradors. The author analyzes the main transport routes of Russian-Chinese trade. In the second part of the 19th century, the most developed transport route from China to the Russian empire was a transit through Mongolia to Kyakhta. At the same time, maritime trade was developed actively. Fuzhou exported tea to Odessa, Vladivostok and Nikolaevsk. However, in Fujian province and Fuzhou, Russian brick-tea industry faced with different problems such as local xenophobia and competition of Chinese tea business. The main problem of Russian-Chinese trade relations was a great imbalance between export and import. Russian manufactured goods could not find consumers in the Chinese market. The author argues that the inactive policy of Russian merchants was the main reason for this failure. At the end of the 19th century, export trade of Fuzhou declined. At that time, Indian tea began to dominate the British market. Nevertheless, in the second half of the 19th century, Fuzhou was one of the main Chinese treaty ports in the system of Russian-Chinese trade relations. © 2019, Permskii Gosudarstvennyi Natsional'nyi Issledovatel'skii Universitet. All rights reserved.