ABSTRACT
It has often been argued that the economic development of China was stifled by western enterprise, which, thanks to privileged status under the treaty system, long flourished on Chinese shores. Foreign ships were free to develop the carrying trade between Chinese ports almost as soon as these were opened, and after 1895, foreigners could establish manufacturing enterprises on Chinese soil. With the advantages which the foreign firms enjoyed, particularly their large capital and their access to low-cost loans, it was inevitable that such Chinese enterprises as competed with them would stand little chance of getting the upper hand.
