Description
Book SynopsisDrawing on German, English, Japanese and Chinese primary sources, Ghassan Moazzin explores how foreign banks financially connected modern China to international capital markets and the global economy and highlights the key role international finance and foreign banks and capital markets played at important turning points in modern Chinese history.
Trade Review'Moazzin's study shows the ambiguities of negotiating financial and political interests with great nuance and objectivity. Based on a mountain of qualitative and quantitative archival data, Moazzin manages to unearth the complex nature of transnational financial flows, networks, and their institutional constraints before WWI. Most importantly, he reminds us that the impact of financial globalization failed to produce clear winners and losers in the process.' Elisabeth Köll, The University of Notre Dame
'Moazzin's history of foreign banks and global finance in turn of the 20th century China opens a new chapter in the global history of capitalism. Readers will find in its pages an illuminating engrossing story of the roles of European economic actors in a Chinese history of globalization, and a crucial contextualization of the modern global economic order that takes into account the Chinese view.' Glenda Sluga, University of Sydney
'Grounded in detailed research, this history will be valuable for all those interested in engaging with China's economic development.' George Hong Jiang, LSE Review of Books
'Foreign Banks' key contributions have less to do with offering alternative models of imperial power and more to do with examining the gritty mechanics of banking. On this front, the analysis is masterful … The meticulous archival work also allows the book to raise compelling questions about state capacity and the governing power of money.' Mary Bridges, Business History
'… a captivating read, accessible to most audiences, and would make an excellent undergraduate textbook for courses on Chinese economic history … Highly recommended.' D. Li, Choice
'A deeply researched history of DAB and its operations in China as well as a study that makes broader points about the integration of China into world financial markets.' Austin Dean, Journal of Chinese History
'An original and important book.' Hubert Bonin, EH.Net
'The thoroughness of his investigation and masterfulness of his analysis made this book not only a scholarly resource, but also an intriguing option for individuals interested in the intricate dynamics of finance, politics, and historical transformation in China's modernization journey.' Yitong Qiu, The Economic History Review
Table of ContentsList of Figures; List of Tables; Acknowledgements; Notes and Conventions; List of Abbreviations; Introduction; 1. A German bank in China: early contact of German bankers with China from the 1870s to the 1880s; 2. Entering the Chinese banking sector: foreign banks on the Chinese frontier; 3. Chinese bonds for European investors: the indemnity loans and the internationalisation of Chinese public finance, 1895–1898; 4. Railway dreams: German bankers and Chinese railway development, 1895–1910; 5. Global markets, international finance and the 1911 revolution in China; 6. Disentanglement and liquidation: German bankers and the first world war in China; Conclusion; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.
