Mr. Rene D'Anjou, Commissioner of Customs for Harbin, has made a very depressing report on local conditions in his annual return for 1920. He says: "The financial crisis -through which China is passing and the admitted gravity of the situation which she is called upon to face, have re-acted on Chinese commercial circles and are causing retrenchment in all directions during the inevitable period which must be gone through before the trading interests in this district can form any opinion of what the year 1921 will bring forth."
Regarding the past year, Mr. D'Anjou says that, unlike 1919, which opened with a feeling of optimism and closed with trade depression "and general stagnation of business, the year 1920 began and ended badly. Unrest, brigandage, insecurity of life and property, keleidoscopie changes in the political situation, the whole overshadowed by dimly-perceived but ever-present international moves on this corner of the Far Eastern checkerboard, coupled with the fact that at one time Harbin suffered from the existence on its immediate boundaries of no less than three distinct and oppos ed forms of so-called government, were all responsible—for a bad trading year. The chaotic state of the money market reported in the Trade Report for 1919, due to depreciation of the rouble, was not a factor during the course of the year, for transactions based upon that depreciated currency came to an end and the trade of 1920 may be looked at from a point of view which ignores the rouble as a factor. The fact that no roubles were collected in payment of duties since June is indicative of the situation. What remains at the close of the year the principal factors in the trade conditions of Harbin are the practical stoppage of all trade with Siberia, unrest in the Amur district, lack of confidence by the commercial elements in Harbin and decreased purchasing capacity of the erstwhile buyer.
One of the marked developments was in the timber trade. The expansion of this trade under the guidance of the Timber Guild, can be confidently looked forward to. Cereals, principally wheat, showed a marked increase in the quantities imported compared with arrivals in the previous year. Due to the drop in silver and the very low prices prevailing for cereals, many Chinese firms of good standing were forced into bankruptcy during the last months of the year. The outstanding feature of the year was the rapid influx and use of the silver dollar, which has practically replaced the Kirin and Heilungkiang small-coin dollar note formerly in use. This was a benefit to trade.
The following are the opening and closing rates for the year of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.