Globalization or Empire? Revolution, the State, and the Geopolitics of Chinese Debt, 1895–1914

Abstract

Via an investigation of the collaboration between banks and foreign offices, this article demonstrates that the restructuring of China’s state debt before and after the revolution of 1911 was not simply a part of Chinese globalisation undertaken under the benign stewardship of foreign banks. Rather, the contest for Chinese loans reflected a power struggle for regional hegemony between expansionist states that hinged on both competition and cooperation, as well as Chinese attempts to preserve their economic and territorial sovereignty. It further shows that the notion that financial institutions operated independently of the state does not reflect the clear record of close coordination between states and financial institutions during loan negotiations.