Year.Imports. Exports.
Value in
Taels.		 Equivalent in
Sterling.		Value in
Taels.		 Equivalent in
Sterling.
1875 66,344,000 £19,903,000 77,308,000 £23,193,000
1885 84,803,000 22,618,000 73,899,000 19,206,000
1890 113,082,000 29,213,000 96,695,000 24,980,000
1895 154,685,000 25,136,000 154,964,000 25,181,000
1898 189,991,000 28,498,000 170,743,000 25,612,000
*1904 344,060,000 49,315,000 239,486,000 34,326,000
*1905 447,100,791 67,065,118 227,888,197 34,183,229

* This marked increase is partly owing to a more complete presentation of statistics; in 1903 an additional number of vessels were placed under the control of the imperial maritime customs.

In 1907 the net imports were valued at £67,664,222 and the exports at £42,961,863. In 1908 China suffered from the general depression in trade. In that year the imports were valued at £52,600,730, the exports at £36,888,050. The distribution of the trade among the various countries of the world is shown in the table which is given below. Hong-Kong is a port for trans-shipment. The imports into China from it come originally from Great Britain, India, Germany, France, America, Australia, the Straits Settlements, &c., and the exports from China to it go ultimately to the same countries.

Imports into China. (000’s omitted.)

Imports from1875.1880.1885.1890.1895.1905.1908.
United Kingdom£6340£6382£6396£6,357£5,518£1,971£9,647
Hong-Kong82828829940418,61514,33122,24020,033
India4451603943062,6612,7535,2204,066
Other British possessions396346542571732963. .
United States30435188494982711,5385,499
Continent of Europe (except Russia)2306716716381,2274,295†3,332
Russian Empire. .. .. .231309302422
Japan746102114041,9092,7949,1977,000

Exports from China. (000’s omitted.)

Exports to1875.1880.1885.1890.1895.1905.1908.
United Kingdom£8749£8125£5864£3383£1718£2,710£1,673
Hong-Kong3824484442328507565112,21812,281
India72323157273449408545
Other British possessions948874818886586647. .
United States230229062213210924994,0553,176
Continent of Europe (except Russia)252437601948300434404,697†7,128
Russian Empire133912601293228825351,4191,123
Japan586642398124824085,3204,949

† Germany, France, Belgium and Italy only.

The chief imports are cotton goods, opium, rice and sugar, metals, oil, coal and coke, woollen goods and raw cotton, and fish. Cotton goods are by far the most important of the imports. They come chiefly from the United Kingdom, which also exports to China woollen manufactures, metals and machinery. China is next to India the greatest consumer of Manchester goods. The export of plain cotton cloths to China and Hong-Kong has for some years averaged 500,000,000 yds. per annum. The only competitor which Great Britain has in this particular branch of trade is the United States of America, which has been supplying China with increasing quantities of cotton goods. The value in sterling of the total imports into China from the United Kingdom long remained nearly constant, but inasmuch as the gold prices were falling the volume of the export was in reality steadily growing. The imports into England, however, of Chinese produce have fallen off, mainly because China tea has been driven out of the English market by the growth of the India and Ceylon tea trade, and also because the bulk of the China silk is now shipped directly to Lyons and other continental ports instead of to London, as formerly was the rule. The growth of the import of Indian yarn into China has been very rapid. In 1884 the import was 35,000,000 ℔ and in 1904 it reached 217,171,066 ℔. The imports into China from all countries for 1908 were as follows:—

Opium£4,563,000 Coal and coke1,124,000
Cotton goods14,786,000 Oil, kerosene2,666,000
Raw cotton232,000 Rice3,543,000
Woollen goods717,000 Sugar3,514,000
Metals2,956,000 Fish, &c.1,028,000