The chief articles of export are all kinds of raw silk and silk products, whose value, exceed ing 82.000.000 taels in 1899, constituted more than 40 per cent. of all the exports. Next in importance is tea, followed by other agricultural products. Chinaware, bamboo-Ware, and other articles of manufacture comprise but an insig nitleant part of the exports. in addition to the foreign trade there is a large coasting trade far exceeds the former, as may be seen from the figures of shipping given below. As for the inland trade, it must be exceedingly , owing to the variety of products of the several provinces of China, and to its vast popu lation; but there are no statistic's available on this subject. The relation of the foreign to the coasting trade is seen from the following totals of shipping. In 1899 the foreign ports were rep resented by 7000 vessels aggregating 5,479.000 tons. whereas the coastwise entries comprised 25,300 vessels of 14,147.000 tons. "The total tonnage." says the ofileial report. ''of entries and
elcaranees was 39.268,000 tons; and of this total (.,reat Britain contributed Si) per milt.; China 24 per cent.; .Tapan 7 per cent.: Gennany 5 per cent.; France • per cent.: Sweden and Norway 1 per cent.: Russia 1 per vent.: and America 1 per cent." It is clear from the above that China control,: much of her own shipping. namely, about one-third of the total coasting tonnage and one-fourth of the foreign trade tonnage. Aloreover. the Chinese shipping is increasing at the expense of the foreign shipping, as the following table of vessels entered and cleared, 1S94 1899 : These tables of Chinese shipping do not em 1,race the shipping of the ports of Kow-lun, Lappa, \leng-tsze. Lung-chow, Chung-king, Su chow, Hang-chow, and Kiao-chan. Leaving these out of consideration, the above figures show that chile, in the period of 1S94-99. the total tonnage had increased less than 33 per cent., the gain in Chinese tonnage was more than 68 per cent.