Historical Study of the Network of Chinese Chambers of Commerce Overseas

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1.BackgroundsUnder the leadership of the Ministry of Commerce and the consuls, the Chinese General Chambers of Commerce were established in Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, the Russian Coastal Province, North and Central, America and Australia. The purpose of establishing the Chinese Chambers of Commerce was to alleviate the conflicts between different dialect groups and urge cooperation with each other.(1)Shanghai, Singapore and San-Jiang groups in Japan played an important role at the beginning.(2)Chinese nationalism stimulated by the enactment of Dutch Nationality Law in the East India in 1907 was one of the main reasons for overseas Chinese to become eager to establish them.2.FunctionsIts functions were not only concerned with commercial matters but also concerned with more administrative matters, such as succession and the issuing of passports and merchants' passes, because the chairman of a Chamber of Commerce had the right to use an official seal, guangfang. Civil cases often needed to be solved by the Chinese Chambers of Commerce abroad in cooperation with the officials of the members' homelands.3.Structure and Flexibility of the NetworkAt the beginning, the network of Chinese Chambers of Commerce stretched from Shanghai to Japan and Southeast Asia, which was strengthened by the publication of the Chinese Federation Review. It was also supported by the circulation of other magazines written in Chinese, such as the Industrial China published in Tokyo and the All China Chambers of Commerce Federation Journal later.Half-institutionalized business network was thus provided by the Government at the beginning of the 20^<th> century as the system of Chinese Chambers of Commerce. It ensured Chinese merchants circumstances in which they could be engaged in business activities with the least anxiety. It functioned as an indispensable business infrastructure through which they expanded their field of activities.