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Text Chapter 1400 [Tariff]

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    Hoover found it very interesting. He came to the Republic of China actually to avoid the British and Japanese. The purpose was not for diplomatic negotiations, but for other reasons.  On the one hand, Wang Xueqian, as a rising star in the political arena of the Republic of China with an American background, has given the United States enough reason to face Wang Xueqian's existence by virtue of his prominent position in the political arena of the Republic of China. The United States even has reason to improve Wang Xueqian's reputation in the Republic of China and make some concessions.  If the United States wants to maintain good relations, it must show enough sincerity.  For the cabinet, the concession in Xiamen is a good choice.  In the Republic of China, the Xiamen Concession¡¯s trade volume was not even among the top six.  You must know that Shanghai alone accounted for 40% of the total trade to and from the Republic of China, and in special years it would reach 60%. Tianjin, Wuhan, Dalian, and Guangzhou accounted for more than 40% of the total volume in these four cities, leaving it for other ports.  The trade volume is almost negligible.  It goes without saying that the position of Xiamen's Lao Qi has much significance.  The other is Xiamen¡¯s embarrassing location. For the Republic of China, the area that Xiamen can only cover is less than one-third of Fujian, and Fujian is a province with impassable roads and no railways.  There are no railways around Xiamen that can connect to the inland, and there are no rivers with convenient navigation. Xiamen, surrounded by mountains, is just a window for the limited resources of central Fujian to be exported, nothing more.  Even Fuzhou's geographical location is better than Xiamen. At least it is still the provincial capital and there is a Minjiang River.  However, Xiamen can only serve as a port for technical secondary schools. Such a status is dispensable, and it is natural that it is not valued by Americans.  Americans don¡¯t want the Xiamen Concession. It¡¯s a nightmare for the British Empire¡¯s diplomatic corps. It¡¯s an amplification move.  The first task of Baron Lee Farrar when he came to the Republic of China was to negotiate the Shanghai Concession; secondly, it was to suppress Wang Xueqian's sphere of influence. For no other reason than the British thought Wang Xueqian was dangerous, he was dangerous.  ¡°Of course, he is also walking a tightrope. Wang Xueqian is a person who will fall out if he disagrees, and he will never give the British time to prepare.  On this point, both Baron Lee Farrar and Baron Kijuro Shitahara agree.  The conflict between the Black Dragon Society and Wang Xueqian is actually a contest between the Japanese textile industry and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang consortium's textile industry.  However, in the competition for raw materials, the failure of the Japanese textile industry in the southern part of the Republic of China directly led to the loss of the market that had been opened up.  This caused the Black Dragon Club to cause trouble.  In fact, the context is very clear. The British want to win over the Japanese to suppress Wang Xueqian's power, but the premise is that Shanghai cannot be chaotic.  The Japanese wanted to rely on the British to come forward and restore their share of textile dumping in the southern part of the Republic of China, especially along the Yangtze River.  This is the prerequisite and the only condition for Japan to be willing to be Britain's pawn.  But when Americans join in, everything changes.  ¡° Hoover¡¯s visit to Zhejiang was actually to give gifts.  Of course, necessary business negotiations are also the basis for deepening the solid cooperative relationship between the two parties.  Giving away the Xiamen concession would be enough to gain Wang Xueqian's favor.  But the British they have no intention of giving up their concession in the Republic of China!  If they were not confident enough, the British could even describe their mood as seeking revenge.  No benefits have been negotiated, so you give someone a generous gift. Is this to challenge the enemy?  After smoothing out these relationships, Hoover discovered that he was holding a mine in his hand, a grenade that could explode anytime and anywhere.  The United Kingdom and Japan forced him to join the gang, but if they knew his true purpose, they would probably regret it. But the problem is, this is a matter decided by Congress, what qualifications does he have to change it?  Unless Hoover is already the president On the one hand in Zhejiang, he was waiting for the telegram of his appointment from the United States. On the other hand, he was thinking tangledly in his heart, should he release the big move in his hand?  Are you letting it go?  Or let it go?  If you don¡¯t let it go, you can only let it go in advance.  In a completely unexpected situation, Gu Weijun was attracted by inexplicable enthusiasm. He even had a feeling that a good era for China and the United States was really coming.  But in fact, the unwanted things Americans give away are like the rich giving away unwanted clothes, and the poor have to pretend to be grateful.  But if it happens to be winter, and the poor gets a shabby winter coat donated by the rich he will burst into tears with gratitude.  The need determines the function.  For the Republic of China, the Xiamen port-type concession that the United States did not need, for the Republic of China¡¯s diplomacy and government, was a cotton-padded coat that could survive the winter. This was a cotton-padded coat that could give the country and the nation confidence.  Although a concession had no practical significance at all for the devastated Republic of China.  But for a government that has been stuck in the quagmire of civil war for a long time, this is undoubtedly a piece of pie falling from the sky, and it falls directly on the head and mouth.Just eat it.  There is an ancient proverb in the East: If you treat me like a countryman, I will repay you as a countryman.  For Gu Weijun, Cao Kun is undoubtedly his Bole, although Cao Kun is not a qualified president, not even a qualified politician.  But his significance to Gu Weijun is almost equivalent to Tang Shaoyi's support to him.  It was precisely because of Cao Kun's important role that Gu Weijun had the opportunity to become the Minister-General of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, which gave him a space to display his inner ambitions.  It is a pity that the external situation of the Republic of China has been unsatisfactory in recent years. Even if Gu Weijun is made of iron, he cannot save Cao Kun's broken ship.  There are a lot of curses in the country, and the continuous fighting between the Zhili and Fengjun along the Great Wall has plunged the finances of the north into an impossible quagmire.  In terms of diplomacy, the international community, led by Britain and France, adopted a more stringent diplomatic and military blockade against the Republic of China. This not only did not bring a good situation to the Republic of China, but also caused internal conflicts to gather and change.  ??The Cao Kun government has no popular support anymore, but what if in such a predicament, the Beiyang government headed by Cao Kun takes back the American Concession in Xiamen that the Qing court lost?  This will undoubtedly restore a lot of Cao Kun's political decline, but of course it will not help the war at all.  Zhang Zuolin and Cao Kun must compete in the north, just like tigers, neither can tolerate the other.  Gu Weijun cheered up and the negotiations were carried out in a relaxed environment.  Regardless of whether U.S. Consul General in Shanghai Keninghan could urge the British to dissolve the Xiamen Public Settlement, one fact cannot be avoided. The Americans have made up their minds and cannot change them.  In terms of details, Hoover believed that it was necessary to establish an area more suitable for trade and establish transportation channels between the two sides. However, this proposal was vetoed by Gu Weijun: "This is impossible. The concession is a legacy of the Qing Dynasty. At the beginning of the Republic of China,  It should be resolved. The Republic of China will never accept changing areas and exchanging one concession for another city. This is nonsense. " "But how can the United States ensure that trade between the two parties can be carried out in a relatively safe environment?  Increased loans to the Republic of China can also be gratuitous, such as building ports, transportation, and even railways" Hoover was asking exorbitant prices to repay the money. Even if he was giving away unwanted things, as a businessman would, he still had to take them.  Return something useful.  At this time, Wang Xueqian was sitting on the side. He did not interrupt a word during the entire negotiation, so that even both parties to the negotiation had forgotten that the area where the United States enjoyed commercial privileges that Hoover might need or request might be in Zhejiang.  If you are in Zhejiang, there is one person you cannot avoid: Wang Xueqian.  Hoover did not give up, but instead said: "The United States is a free country and has always strived for equal rights in international affairs, so Congress will not require that the American concession in Xiamen be exchanged for concession terms in any other area during the Republic of China. And  "Is it hoping to obtain a trade channel based on equality?" "For example, a 'free trade zone'?" Wang Xueqian finally spoke, and his words stunned Hoover and Gu Weijun.  In fact, the negotiation has begun the wrangling stage. Although the goal is determined, the process and details are bargaining chips for both parties.  For Gu Weijun, he really didn't have a good bargaining chip in his hand for him to squander.  Americans are interested in Zhejiang, even Fujian and Shanghai, especially Wang Xueqian, who makes Americans think that there is something rare to live in.  But these are not issues that Gu Weijun can decide.  A nail or a grain of sand in Zhejiang requires Wang Xueqian's nod.  Otherwise, even if he agrees, it will cause endless trouble.  For Gu Weijun, the result is very important, the middle part he doesn't care at all.  But there was no way, Wang Xueqian relied on him. He seemed to be Cao Kun's foreign minister and also the diplomatic spokesperson of Southeast Wang Xueqian was a hundred times better than him. Even if Gu Weijun wanted to deny it, he couldn't.  Argument.  Free trade zone!  This term was indeed new to Hoover, but the role of the concession in the Republic of China, at least economically, was the concept of a free trade area.  Of course, commercial transactions outside of extra-legal jurisdiction must be excluded.  With the huge number of trade goods going to and from Shanghai Port, the amount of taxes collected in a year is almost negligible.  Xiamen's role is similar. The only difference is that the quantity and scale of Xiamen's trade cannot be compared with several other trading cities in the Republic of China.  When Wang Xueqian told Hoover the concept of a free trade zone, Hoover's eyes lit up. This is the credit of education!  Goods in the trade zone can be stopped for loading and unloading at will, and taxes will be selectively levied only after entering the channel of the Republic of China.  This will omit a large amount of cargo transshipment process. According to the normal route, if Zhejiang wants to import goods, it has to import goods from Shanghai or Xiamen.Good luck.  Even if the ship carrying the goods passes through the port along the Zhejiang coast, it cannot stop to load and unload the goods.  The reason is simple, tariffs.  As an ancillary clause of the Gengzi Indemnity and the sequelae of the "big loan for the aftermath," the Republic of China lost the right to collect customs taxes, and some of these rights were controlled by the British.  And the British would not set up customs agencies in all the coastal ports of the Republic of China to collect taxes, right? ? Then there is a very simple way, go to a Republic of China city with a British concession.  The prosperity of Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Tianjin, and Wuhan is due to trade, and the reason for the concentration of trade is that the customs were controlled by the British.  Hoover wanted to bypass the British because once a large amount of American goods landed in the Republic of China, it would definitely squeeze the market share of British industrial products. It was inevitable that the British would not do something that would make Americans gnash their teeth.  For example, imposing special taxes on U.S. industrial products, even if it is a normal tax, will make U.S. products lose their competitiveness in the Republic of China.  To prepare for a rainy day, if Hoover wanted to avoid this situation, he had to let Wang Xueqian use administrative power to fight against the British.  But obviously, Wang Xueqian will not fall for it.  To be honest, the customs in the early days of the Republic of China were controlled by the British. However, the goods that the coastal governors wanted to import never thought of having to deal with the goods in transit cities, let alone let the British inspect, verify and collect them.  Taxed.  This was a private practice, and even the Americans knew it, not to mention the political circles of the Republic of China.  Hoover made the request based on this point.  However, Wang Xueqian did not agree. Instead, he began to say in a pragmatic manner: "Sir Clark, as you know, the customs of the Republic of China are under the control of the British. According to the aftermath of the big loan and the relevant provisions, the British require all people entering and leaving the Republic of China to  Goods need to be loaded and unloaded at designated ports so that the quantity and amount of goods can be counted and used as a basis for tax collection" "But as far as I know, many officials in the Republic of China did not approve of this behavior. We should have more flexible means.  Make trade more convenient," Hoover insisted, but his tone was already a bit soft.  Wang Xueqian shrugged helplessly and said: "As you know, our relationship with the British is very tense. At the moment, and even for a long time to come, the top priority for me and my colleagues is to prevent the British from finding someone to attack.  Reason. "Hoover would not bring up the tariffs of the Republic of China, nor did he have the right to bring it up.  In the initial large-scale loan repayment, among the five powers that enjoyed tariff mortgages, Tsarist Russia had been destroyed, Germany was half-dead, Japan only had a few percent share, and the remaining Britain and France accounted for the majority.  The United States is not even qualified to participate in management, let alone negotiate the ownership of tariffs in the Republic of China.  On this issue, even if the Americans wanted to borrow a loan from the Republic of China and repay the large loan in advance, the British would not agree.  Once the tariffs fall into the hands of the people of the Republic of China, the British should be nervous: God knows whether these people of the Republic of China will maliciously increase the tariffs on British goods and impose high taxes.  Hoover didn¡¯t dare mention it.  Gu Weijun wanted to mention it, but couldn't find a good entry point.  When both sides refused to give in, Chen Brai took a telegram from the telegraph room commissioner, glanced at it, and handed it to Hoover.  Then he said a few words in Wang Xueqian's ear with a strange expression.  Then, both Hoover and Wang Xueqian laughed awkwardly. No one would have thought that the British telegram urging Hoover would be sent to Wang Xueqian. I don¡¯t know whether it was intentional or a helpless act!  (To be continued.)
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