The Barter Trade between China and U.S.S.R. during the Sino-Japanese War.

The outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war put China in great financial difficulties, pressing China into asking for military and monetary assistance from the international communities. But without enough foreign currencies for repayment, the Chinese government resorted to barter trade (...), an ancient mode of commodity exchange, which came into full swing as time went by. First with U.S.S.R. and later with the U.S. and U.K., this mode of trading provided loan and assistance to China during the war. In particular, the barter trade with the Soviet Union at the early stage of the war had played a crucial role in the Chinese government's effort in seeking foreign aid to fight against the enemy. This paper focuses on how China supplied goods to U.S.S.R. through barter trade in accordance with the agreement. It examines the produce (such as Chinese wood oil, tea leaves, bristles, raw silk, and wool) that were purchased and distributed as a whole by the Fu Hua Trading Co. (...), China National Tea Co. (...) and the Foo Shing Trading Co. (...) under the purview of the Foreign Trade Commission (...). Drawing on original documents of the aforementioned companies, public archives, and reviewing previous literature, the author discusses in detail the negotiation process and contents between China and U.S.S.R., organization and evolution of the trade committee, the quantity, price, means and routes of transportation of the traded produce. They are followed by an in-depth analysis of the effects and problems of the barter trade between China and U.S.S.R. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]