TRADE WITH CHINA

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 151, 23 December 1929, Page 12

TRADE WITH CHINA

"FULL OP PITFALLS"

"The prestige of the foreigner in China has gone to pieces, and the Chinese disregard contracts without the slightest concern," said Mr. E. S. Little, formerly Australian Trade Commissioner in the East and a resident of China for 4-1 years, in an address to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. "Trade with China is full of pitfalls, and there is no easy road to wealth, although the trade is potentially enormous and there is room for many New Zealand products." *

Mr. Little said lie had been intensely pro-Chinese until the recent revolution. "I then became bitterly anti-National-ist, as I was satisfied the revolution was aimed at the British Empire," he said. "I knew Sun Vat Sen for many years, and the Chinese Minister of Finance told me they hoped to spread revolution to India with Chinese soldiers on Indian soil. Russian Communists had complete control."

Mr. Little said China's foreign trade last year amounted to £370,000,000. The Chinese required everything that a civilised people could want. "War never upset trade in China, and every year the trade figures were higher. In trading in the country one had to be equipped with silver and scales, as all purchasing was done in silver.

"China cannot feed herself, but in seeking trade there one must be very cautious," Mr. Little said. "I warn you against trading direct with Chinese unless sou are safeguarded. You have to bf most particular about packing, or you will have all sorts of claims for damaged merchandise. The saying: 'The word of a Chinese is as good as his bond' is a fallacy. His bond is worth nothing. There is no power by which you can enforce contracts in China. Every examiner can be 'got at' for a few dollars, and he will pass anything you like."