Chapter 19 Section 3 Contributions of Overseas Chinese in America to the Economic Construction of the Motherland Before 1949
From the perspective of the century, most of the overseas Chinese are distributed in Southeast Asia, and only a small part of them are in the Americas.During the Anti-Japanese War, overseas Chinese in America accounted for only 2.7% of all overseas Chinese.However, overseas Chinese in the Americas have made special contributions to the motherland's economy, especially in remittances.
Overseas Chinese remittance refers to the money remitted by overseas Chinese to their motherland.These funds are either used to support family members, or invested in enterprises, or donated to the country, and so on.Overseas Chinese remittances are an important link for overseas Chinese to maintain contact with their motherland, family members, relatives and friends, and also an important financial source for the motherland to balance foreign exchange income.
Before 1949, how many remittances were there each year across the country?Due to the lack of complete information in this regard, it is difficult to have an exact figure.However, after analyzing and researching some relevant materials by domestic scholars, there is roughly a figure that is closer to the truth: in the 15 years from 1930 to 1945, the national remittances totaled 1.42 billion US dollars.Among them, American remittances accounted for about 50%.
From 1937 to 1945, the national remittances reached 750 million U.S. dollars, while the American remittances reached 595 million U.S. dollars in the same period, accounting for about 79% of the total number of overseas Chinese in the country.It can be seen that the economic support for the construction of the motherland is particularly prominent in terms of remittances from overseas Chinese in the Americas.This fully reflects the innocence of overseas Chinese in America.
After the Opium War, foreign capital poured into China in large quantities, which accelerated the emergence and development of modern Chinese capitalism.With the emergence and development of capitalism in China, overseas Chinese in the Americas also gradually carried out investment activities in China.
In the early 1860s, the Qing government formally appointed the minister of trade and commerce in charge of the northern and southern ports to handle Western affairs.The Westernization School headed by Yixin [Xin Xin] not only manages trade, but also begins to run factories, build railways, open mines and other affairs. In 1862, an overseas Chinese surnamed Li in Peru returned to China with capital and opened Wanxinglong Export House in Guangzhou.The bank has a capital of 10,000 taels of silver and 30 shareholders, most of whom are overseas Chinese in Cuba, Peru and the United States. It is mainly engaged in commerce, exchange and medicinal materials.It is not only the overseas Chinese in America but also the first enterprise invested and established by overseas Chinese in China.
In addition to investing in business, the Reformers also established Tianpingshan Tin Mining Company in Guangxi, Guangzhi Bookstore in Shanghai, Zhenhua Industrial Company and Hong Kong Huayi Industrial Company in Hong Kong, etc.
After the Revolution of 1911, overseas Chinese in America respected Sun Yat-sen infinitely, and their patriotism was greatly enhanced. Returning investors were all the rage for a while.In just a few years from 1912 to 1919, the amount invested by overseas Chinese in commerce, industry, transportation and real estate has exceeded the sum of the 40 years before the 1911 Revolution. From the 1920s to the early 1930s, and before the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the domestic investment of overseas Chinese in America continued to grow.
Overseas Chinese in the Americas mainly invest in commerce, agriculture, industry, transportation and real estate.The investment locations are mainly in Guangdong, the hometown of overseas Chinese, especially in Guangzhou.However, due to the different investment fields, the investment areas are also different. For example, agriculture and animal husbandry are mainly located in Nanjing and Shanghai in Jiangsu Province, while the financial business focuses on Hong Kong and other places.
In the 1920s and 1930s, overseas Chinese in America took real estate investment as one of their key investment projects.The Guangzhou Aiqin Building, invested and constructed by Chen Boxing, an overseas Chinese in San Francisco, was grand in scale and was still the tallest building in Guangzhou until the 1960s.The New Asia Hotel opened in Guangzhou, the New Asia Main Store established in Hong Kong, and the Shanghai New Asia Hotel built later were all the result of investment from overseas Chinese in the Americas.
The largest investment made by overseas Chinese in the Americas in the transportation industry was the Xinning Railway built by Chen Yixi.Chen Yixi was born in Doosan District, Taishan County, Guangdong Province in 1844. His family was poor. In 1860, he went to Seattle, USA as a handyman, and later participated in the construction of the American Pacific Railway project. In 1904, with the ideal of "saving the country by industry", he returned to Guangzhou from the United States to prepare for the construction of the Xinning Railway.He established the Xinning Railway Preparatory Office in Taishan County, acted as the general office himself, drafted the "Draft Articles of Association for the Preparation of Xinning Railway Co., Ltd.", and conducted on-site inspections.After finishing the work, I returned to San Francisco, USA, sold my property, and took the lead in fundraising.Finally, with the support of the Ningyang General Assembly Hall and Zhongxi Daily, it raised 2.75 million US dollars in early 1905. In 1905, the Xinning Railway Company was formally established and reported to the Qing government for approval, and the construction officially started the following year.The Xinning Railway was divided into three phases. Due to funding problems, it was built intermittently for 14 years and was completed in 1920.The Xinning Railway is centered on Taishan and connects to public welfare in the north. It crosses the river from Zhongwan to Xinhui to Jiangmen North Street, to Doosan in the south, and to Baisha in the west, with a total length of 137 kilometers.There are also 46 stations, 215 large and small bridges, and 236 culverts built along the railway line, with a total cost of 4 million yuan.Xinning Railway is the transportation hub of Xin and Tai counties, which is very conducive to the development and prosperity of industry and commerce.In order to commend Chen Yixi for his achievements in building roads and the lofty quality of abandoning his family for the public, the people of Taishan built a bronze statue for him at Taishan Railway Station in 1920 to commemorate him.
In addition, overseas Chinese in the Americas invested in the transportation industry. In 1913, Wu Zhiji and others raised 2 million silver to establish Guangdong Tramway Co., Ltd., which was suspended for some reason. In 1919, work was restarted to operate trolleybuses from Guangjiu Road, Wanfu Road to Taiping Road.This is regarded as the beginning of the modernization of Guangdong's transportation industry. In 1923, American overseas Chinese established the Xiangshan Shiqilong Car Road Company to raise funds to build a car road from Shiqi to Longdu in Zhongshan County, Guangdong.
Agriculture and animal husbandry are also important areas for investment by overseas Chinese in the Americas.Li Ji, an American overseas Chinese who followed Sun Yat-sen's revolution, thought that the revolution was about to succeed, so he abandoned politics and started farming. In 1913, Li Ji raised 200,000 yuan in shares, organized Xinjiang Jiangnan Fuqun Industrial Company, and decided to purchase 4,000 mu of land along the Yangtze River in Nanjing for the purpose of planting and raising livestock. In 1921, American overseas Chinese established Guangyi Real Estate Construction Village Co., Ltd., and decided to raise 1 million yuan to buy land and build villages near Shanghai to develop agriculture. In 1922, American overseas Chinese Wu Dongqi and others established Guangdong Patriotic Farming Co., Ltd. and decided to raise 1 million yuan to start a farm in Guangdong.The ideal of these American overseas Chinese to build farms and villages to run agriculture is to make agriculture take the road of intensification.It can be regarded as the forerunner of China's agricultural modernization development model.
In terms of industry, the most influential one is the Guangzhou Electric Lamp Company.The company was established by Huang Bingchang and Li Ruibang, an overseas Chinese in the United States, who raised 100,000 cents.The company used two 100-horsepower engines to generate electricity, bringing light to Yangcheng.In addition, Jiangnan Paper Co., Ltd. was founded by Yu Juezhi, an overseas Chinese in America in 1909; Guangzhou Southwest Pottery Co., Ltd. was established by American overseas Chinese Liu Shuyong and Huang Ruyi in 1922; and Zhonghua Paper Co., Ltd. was established by American overseas Chinese Tan Zan and Chen Kongfang in 1924. .During the anti-Japanese period, with the national defense needs of the motherland and the development of the aviation industry, the overseas Chinese in the United States also vigorously assisted the development of the aviation industry of the motherland. Keep repair shop and latex adhesive factory etc.Their great support during the Anti-Japanese War brought my country's aviation industry to a new level.
With the progress of American overseas Chinese in industrial investment, some supporting economic sectors have gradually developed.For example, in the mining industry, as early as 1909, American overseas Chinese Liu Ruling and Tan Zhenmou established the Guangdong-Guangzhou Coal Mine Co., Ltd., raising more than 20,000 yuan from Dayang, and hired Liu Chi, a graduate of the Department of Metallurgy and Mining from the University of California, to return to China for investigation. Mining in Xinggang was stopped for some reason, and it was decided to mine in Hepu and Qujiang counties.Later, American overseas Chinese Wu Xuebing [Mei Mei] and others established the Guangdong Provincial Gold Mine Company. They had prepared 1 million yuan, filed a case with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and operated the Jinjishui Gold Mine in Enping County. They have been mining for many years.The financial industry has also developed, and the major influences are the Pacific Commercial Bank jointly established by Chinese and American businessmen in 1921, and the Luhaitong Bank established by Chen Fuxiang in 1922, etc.
It can be seen that overseas Chinese in America have made certain contributions in promoting the development of the national industry of the motherland.This is a concrete manifestation of the patriotism and love of the overseas Chinese in the Americas.
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