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Technology Transfer in Modern China: The Case of Railway Enterprise (1876–1937)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Chang Jui-Te
Chang Jui-Te
Affiliation:
Institute of Modern History Academia Sinica, Taipei
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Extract

Most contemporary scholars involved in economic development research think that the government should be playing an important role in the technology transfer being carried out in developing countries. However, during the end of the Ch'ing Dynasty no plan for large-scale technology transfer was made owing to financial difficulties, and railways were the only enterprise which proceeded at a constant rate. At the end of the Ch'ing Dynasty railways, in the eyes of government officials and the gentry, would widely promote the development of various sectors as well as benefit the national defense to help reach the objective of making China strong and wealthy. After more than half a century of development railway construction made considerable progress in China, and according to statistics in 1933 a total mileage of more than 10,000 kilometers covering 19 provinces had been constructed. Assets reached $860 million yuan and liabilities were more than 1.2 billion. Although still a very minor operation compared to other industrialized countries, this was the largest enterprise in modern China, transporting 45 million passengers and 27 kilotons of cargo annually, employing 120,000 people. Operating income reached $148 million yuan and output, $160 million yuan.

Type
Articles
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , May 1993 , pp. 281 - 296
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

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