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“...innumerable cheap wooden hand looms in every village are said to be turning out improved work. These are supplemented to some extent by imported hand looms of Japanese make, but such figures- as are available indicate that the import of Japanese machines has not reached a high amount and the extreme cheapness of the native hand loom renders competition difficult. As for cotton weaving with foreign machinery, there are now in China some 3,300 machine looms in operation, and more cotton weaving mills are being started in various parts of the country, but the British manufacturer has as yet no serious cause for concern on account of the competition thus indicated.
Japanese competition.The following comparative table of the total imports of British, American, Indian and Japanese plain cottons compiled from the customs figures for shirtings and sheetings, drills, jeans and T-clothsduring the last four years shows that British piece-goods are fairly holding their own :
Description. 1906. i | 1907...”
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“...make have opened the way for the more solid and expensive products of the British manufactory.
Yarn.Indian yarn meets with an increasing competition from Japanese, but Japanese yarn in its turn appears to be subjected to a still closer competition, especially in the north of China, from the products of the Shanghai mills. At the beginning of 1910 there were 782,242 spindles in China (including Hong-Kong), of which 407,718 belong to 14 mills in Shanghai, 203,892 to 12 other mills in Kiangsu and Chekiang provinces, 90,000 to Hupeh Government mills at Wuchang*
25.000 to a mill in Chihli province, and 55,632 to a mill in Hong-Kong. The native yarn distributed by the Shanghai mills amounted to
24.900.000 lbs. in 1907, 50,400,000 lbs. in 1908 and 56,700,000 lbs. in
1909.
Metals.The falling-off in the total value of metals imported from 2,956,5521. in 1908 to 2,210,1621. in 1909 is more than accounted for by the decreased import of copper and spelter, already alluded to in connection with the closing...”
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“...CHINA.
i'3
The import of flour continued to decrease. Under present conditions, as noted in last annual report, it is impossible for American or British flour to compete successfully with the product of the native mills.
Electrical materials, machinery and railway plant.The import returns under these three heads show that the expectations of increase expressed in last years report have failed to be realised, indeed the values of the first two items are considerably reduced. Progress, however, continues to be made throughout the Empire in undertakings requiring machinery.
Electric lighting, &c.During the year 1909, electric lighting contracts were given out for new installations at Chungking, Chengtu, Changsha, Nanking and Ningpo, and for more or less important 'extensions at Shanghai (settlements and native city), Hankow, Peking, Swatow, Moukden and other places. Negotiations were going on at the beginning of 1910 for a large installation at Hangchow and for installations in several cities...”
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“...been noted.
A flour mill at Tsingkiangpu (started 1905) had new machinery and power plant added in 1909 ; three new rice-hulling mills are doing well at Wuhu.
A glass factory is being started at Canton and one at Peking, hitherto a failure, is being reorganised.
A Chinese company has been formed in Tientsin for the manufacture of hardware, especially enamelled goods.
Leather factories are being started or projected at Hankow and Hi.
Paper mills have been recently started at Shanghai and Canton, and new paper mills are projected in various places, notably at Peking.
Twelve new silk filatures have been built at Chefoo and seven at Shanghai.
Small factories for making soap, dyes, candles, &c., are being started at Chinkiang, Shanghai, Wuhu and Hankow, and a candle factory was reported in 1909 to be nearing completion at Lanchow.
In addition to the woollen mills at Peking and Shanghai mentioned in last year's report, there is a woollen cloth factory established at Lanchow, a private mill starting...”
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