Much has been heard in recent years of the rivalry of the French for the trade of Western China, by way of Tonquin and the Red River (Song-koi): but we are now in a position to test it by actual results. By Art. II. of the Convention Additionelle de Commerce entre la France et la Chine, signed at Peking on the 26th of June, 1887, the city of Lungchow, in the Province of Kwangzi, and the city of Mêng-tzŭ, in Southern Yün-nan, as well as Man-hao at the head of navigation of the Red River, and south-west of Mêng-tzŭ, were opened to trade, and by Art. III. the following differential duties were, with a view to a more rapid development of trade between China and Tonquin, agreed upon:--Foreign goods imported into China through these cities shall pay seven-tenths, and Chinese goods exported to Tonquin by the same routes shall pay six-tenths, of the general tariff in force at the Treaty ports of China. In August, 1889, a Custom-house was established at Mêng-tzŭ, with which I propose to deal more particularly in this place, for the route by way of the Red River, Man-hao, and Mêng-tzŭ is practically the only way of access from Tonquin to Yün-nan and the South-Western Provinces of China, and by it the whole trade is conducted; so that the Custom-house Returns of Mêng-tzŭ supply complete data as to its value, volume, and distribution. The following table gives the value of the trade from 1890 to 1895:--
--------+---------+---------+---------+----------+---------+--------- | 1890 | 1891 | 1892 | 1893 | 1894 | 1895 --------+---------+---------+---------+----------+---------+--------- IMPORTS.| H. T. | H. T. | H. T. | H. T. | H. T. | H. T. Foreign| 466,089| 744,480| 887,606|{ 1,524,290|1,241,879|1,809,253 Native | 169,014| 202,336| 261,459|{ | | EXPORTS.| 468,904| 583,275| 736,355| 735,204| 943,321|1,033,066 +---------+---------+---------+----------+---------+--------- Total |1,104,007|1,530,007|1,885,420| 2,259,494|2,195,200|2,842,319 --------+---------+---------+---------+----------+---------+--------- After 1892 no distinction was made between foreign and native imports.
An analysis of the trade shows that it is composed for the most part of a few articles of considerable value. The year 1895 may be taken as an example.