Great Britain Leads the Way in China
GREAT BRITAIN'S formal recognition of the Chinese National Government on Thursday, December 20th, is a landmark in the histories of both countries. Since the days of the Opium War of 1842 Britain has been, one might almost say, regarded as the traditional enemy of China. The Wanhsien, Shanghai; and Shameen incidents all had for their protagonists China and Britain, with other countries in the back- ground. Though the loss of life in each was small, they were together responsible for much anti-British feeling in China; the Chinese felt that they were examples of our general policy. The fact, too, that we were the first to send a Defence Force to Shanghai was looked upon as another sign of our desire to " get our teeth into " China. No Chinese remembered that any force we sent would take over a month to reach Shanghai, while the Japanese could, and did, send a large force over in a few days.
To any Chinese who asks us now for our credentials of good will we can say " We were the first to recognize you. We did not wait till everyone else had acted. We lead the way." It is true that everyone expected America to be the first ceremonially to recognize the new China, but a dispute about the proper order for firing the salutes brought it about that Great Britain was the first after all. And here we would like to congratulate Sir Miles Lampson, His Majesty's Minister to China. When he went out in 1926 he was met by a wall of Chinese opposition and, if he attempted to conciliate the Chinese, an equally solid wall of opposition from his own country- men in China. He has steered his course with caution and yet firmness, till to-day we find Great Britain's position in China better than it has been for many years.
What will be the effect of this Treaty on our trade with China ? An interesting sidelight on this is the prominence given to the Treaty by the Manchester Guardian which naturally speaks for cotton. Before the War we sold 700 million yards of cotton piece-goods to China. Last year, as a result of conditions in that country, we sold only a hundred million. Since the Revolution of 1911 China has been in a perpetual state of turmoil, and foreign trade with her has gradually come to a standstill. The victory of one party, followed by the appointment of a President and Government of all China, was the first step towards stabilization. But this Government has a tremendous task in front of it. Only last week news reached us of a revolt by a leading general in far-west China. This is but a particularly striking instance of the chaos there is in China to-day. Everywhere are scattered little bandit chiefs, who make life unsafe for anyone with money or valuables outside certain scheduled areas.
Famine, too, is spreading everywhere, and it is credibly reported that 12,000;000 people are destitute. A revolt in Kansu (the most westerly province in China) a few months ago, caused the death of hundreds of thousands. These are the conditions which have stifled trade, and with which the new National Government has to contend. The Chinese have a special word for such support as we have just given them. It is .generally translated as " Face," and really means prestige. To " lose face " is the most terrible thing that can happen to a Chinese. The person who of his own free will " gives face " to him is his lifelong .friend. The National Government has, up to now, had no " face " with foreigners. We have given it " face "—not out of compulsion but voluntarily— and we may hope to see the dawn of a new period of reconstruction in China and a new era in Anglo-Chinese relations.
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