ABSTRACT
The rise of foreign banks in Shanghai in the middle of the nineteenth century reflected the effects of increasing British trade after the opening of China, substantial international conflicts such as the Second Opium War or the Arrow War of 1857-60, and the first Sino-Japanese War in 1894-95. A British bank, the Oriental Banking Corporation, established its branch in Shanghai in 1847, thus opening the first chapter of foreign banking operations in Shanghai. Commercial interests were always the fundamental motive of Western powers in forcing China to enter treaty relations and to open more treaty ports during the Arrow War period. After defeating China in 1895, Japan's ambitions toward China's natural resources and markets grew, as did its sphere of influence. In addition to international trade and conflicts, domestic rebellions further weakened the central political power and reduced the financial strength of the Qing dynasty. Although the Tongzhi Restoration had been a concerted effort to reconstruct the order of Chinese society, it was not successful. Furthermore, the Self-Strengthening Movement failed dismally as a result of the unanticipated backwardness of Chinese military equipment and the weakness of military organization.
