Nie Li：The Trade Crisis in Hong Kong and Sino-British Relations in the Early Days of the People’s Republic of China

The trade crisis in Hong Kong included a confrontation between East and West, contradictions between nationalism and colonialism, and other complicated issues, and, based on this crisis, China and Britain were engaged in both struggle and cooperation. After the Second World War, Britain had a contradictory attitude regarding control over Hong Kong’s trade crisis, which was influenced by the Cold War thinking of the British and American alliance, a rigid attitude to the idea of a colonial Hong Kong, and economic realism. The Chinese government differentiated between the jurisdiction of Hong Kong and its trade crisis, fully emphasizing Hong Kong’s role in international trade and diplomatic and united front work, and it made use of British-American contradictions to continually break through the blockade and embargo and to maintain trade communications. The trade crisis led to a rapid shrinking of transit trade in Hong Kong, but there was never an interruption in the trade between Hong Kong and the interior. The trade crisis helped CPC leaders define their policy toward Hong Kong, and, meanwhile, it weakened British influence on Hong Kong’s market and economy and forced an industrial transformation in Hong Kong.