SPECIAL REPORTS FOR FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSIO*

“Wf gl
*nugh &amp;
“hg 0
the—

Similar financial work is done by the Russian Governmend +
the branch of the Russo-Asiatic Bank in Peking, which ac
financial agent of that Government and operates directly unc _
instructions of the Russian minister of finance to further the interests
 of Russia in China.
The big competitor of the Standard Oil Co. in the Orient is the
Asiatic ; Fs Co. (Ltd.), an English concern with its head
offices in Shanghai and Hongkong and 13 suboffices in the principal
Chinese cities. All agencies have tanks installed, while 135 agents
work in north China and 95 in south China. Most of the oil is secured
 from the Dutch East Indies and British Borneo, where this
company is allied with the Dutch and the Shell interests, who are the
oil L proquose.
oreign investments in China.—This section of the questionaire is
without doubt the most important one, as far as China is concerned.
There are a multitude of foreign interests in this country with their
different nationalities and conflicting claims, special rights, spheres
of influence, privileges secured through treaties, large loans or immense
 investments.
No estimate of the amount of foreign capital invested in China has
ever been made; but it is generally admitted that the British have
about £500,000,000 invested, mostly in the Yangtsze Valley. The
total amount of the long-time foreign loans and indemnities, exclusive
 of the sums raised for the construction of railways, is about
$700,000,000 gold, while the short-term loans will add about $100,-000,000
 gold to this total.
There has been a practice of insisting upon effective supervision of
the expenditure of who loans. Therefore, usually when a foreign
loan is made to construct a particular railroad or mine, the engineer
if charge of construction is of the same nationality as the source of
the loan.
A study of China’s foreign railway agreements will disclose the
manifold rights which foreign financiers and engineers have secured
in this very important phase of Chinese political and economic life.
All of these activities of foreign Governments and financial agents
do and will without doubt affect the importation into China of particular
 lines of goods from the United States and the investment of
American capital in this country. Recently, Messrs. M. Samuel &amp; Co.
negotiated a loan for the development of Hankow with the Chinese
Government. ‘L'his agreement called for the issue of a series of bonds
to a total amount of £10,000,000 for the development of Hankow.
Preference for British materials was provided for, and the London
office of Messrs. M. Samuel &amp; Co. were to act as agents for the supply
of the materials required.
Governmental development of Chinese export trade—The activities
of the Chinese Government to foster the foreign trade of its manufacturers
 has only been of recent growth, and consequently has not
reached large proportions. The Government has lately instanced a
tendency to encourage industrial production by the creation of a
commercial and industrial commission, under the ministry of agriculture
 and commerce, which is to study and to aid, as much as possible,
the organization and development of industries in China. As a consequence
 of this policy, there has been formed recently a Chinese tea