Robert Hart and the Chinese Maritime Customs Service

| By Richard Horowitz, Professor of History |

Richard Horowitz is a Professor of History at California State University. Trained as a historian of modern China, he subsequently developed a second specialization in the emerging field of World History. His research explores the intersection of China and processes of global integration from the 1820s to the 1920s. He teaches courses on China, Japan, World History, and historical methods.

This is an excerpt from an essay by Professor Richard S. Horowitz entitled “The Chinese Maritime Customs Service, 1854–1949: An Introduction”.

近一个世纪以来,中国海关总税务司在中国和全球经济之间的关系发挥了重要作用。海关总署是中国政府的一部分,但它是由外国人领导。从技术上讲,它的作用仅限于确保关税的准确评估(进口和出口税)。然而,随着时间的推移,它成为参与了很多活动,包括维护港口和灯塔,支付国外贷款,一个非常广泛的发表的报告的准备,向中国政府提供技术援助的提供。海关官员经常参与外交的讨论,并担任中国官员和外国代表之间的非正式中介机构。

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