The Westernization Movement, also known as the self-help movement and self-improvement movement in the late Qing Dynasty. This movement was a "self-improvement" and "seeking wealth" movement carried out by the Westernizationists from the 1860s to the 1890s to introduce Western military equipment, machine production and science and technology to maintain feudal rule. (The slogan in the early period was "self-improvement", and the slogan in the later period was "seeking wealth"). The fundamental guiding ideology is "self-improvement" and "seeking wealth". Its classification ideas are "learn from the barbarians to control the barbarians" and "Chinese style and Western use". The first four words "learn from the barbarians and control the barbarians" indicate the relationship between the Westernization Movement and foreign capitalist invaders, that is, learning the skills of the West to resist the Western aggression.
The largest civilian enterprise in China at that time was the Steamship Investment Promotion Bureau founded by Li Hongzhang in Shanghai.
On January 17, 1873, the "Steamship Investment Promotion Bureau" was officially established in Yong'an Street, Yangjingbin, Shanghai. This was the transition from a military industrial enterprise to a civilian enterprise during the Westernization Movement, and from a government-run enterprise to an official-supervised commercial enterprise. ’s first enterprise. Among them, there are 100,000 taels of official shares, 100,000 taels each of brothers Zhu Qiang and Zhu Qizhao, 50,000 taels of Li Hongzhang, and 4 ships, engaged in grain transportation and various passenger and cargo transportation businesses in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Six months after the company was founded, it suffered serious losses and Zhu Qiang was forced to resign.
In June 1873, the famous compradors Tang Tingshu and Xu Run joined. Tang Tingshu, a Shanghai businessman and comprador of British Jardine Matheson Company, served as the first general manager of the Steamship Merchants Bureau. Xu Run, Zhu Qiang and Sheng Xuanhuai are in charge of the conference. Among them, Tang is a foreign-funded foreign firm; Zhu is a representative of Caoliang North Transport; Sheng is a representative of Li Hongzhang; and Xu is a representative of domestic industrial and commercial owners with a comprador background. Later Tang Dynasty went to Tianjin to run the Kaiping Coal Mine, and was succeeded by Sheng Xuanhuai. The Steamship Merchants Group has an approved share capital of 1 million taels of silver, with 100 taels per share. It invites social investors to invest in the company, and Xu Run attaches 240,000 taels of shares. On August 7, 1873, the company moved to a new address on Sanma Road in Shanghai and was renamed the Steamship Investment Promotion Bureau. In the same year, 19 branches were established in Tianjin, Hankou, Nagasaki, and Hong Kong.
Li Hongzhang has the power to appoint directors to the Steamship Merchants Company. Under the protection of Li Hongzhang, the Steamship Merchants Bureau not only had a grain patent business, but also obtained loans from the government and the land needed to build dock warehouses, and the goods it transported were exempted from lijin. The appointees of the Steamship Merchants Company managed the company together with the businessmen who were the major shareholders. However, policy decisions are in the hands of official directors appointed by the government. Public shareholding does not bring about the separation of management rights and ownership rights like in the West. Instead, the shareholding system is adapted to Chinese business traditions. In order to attract businessmen to invest, the Steamship Merchants Company has arranged for the major shareholders to directly manage the company's branch. The 1873 charter stipulates (Article 1): People with larger shares will be elected as merchant directors to assist merchants in operating business at major ports. Initially, two business directors will be appointed in Shanghai, and one will be appointed each in Tianjin, Hankou, Hong Kong, and Shantou. In the future, if there are other businesses, or if there are larger attached shares, they will be selected at their own discretion.
At the beginning of its establishment, the Steamship Merchants Association entered into fierce competition in the shipping industry with the American Qichang & Company and the British-owned Swire & Company.
In 1875, the "Insurance Merchants Bureau" was established to undertake marine insurance and hull insurance; in 1876, Xu Run, the major shareholder of China Merchants Bureau, and Tang Tingshu jointly established the "Renhe Marine Insurance Company". Both companies mentioned above participate in the shipping industry insurance market.
In 1877, the Steamship Merchants Bureau acquired all the properties of the "American Merchant Qichang Steamship Company", including 7 sea-going ships, 9 river ships and various barges, barges, docks, warehouses, located at 9 on the Bund in Shanghai. The total price of the office building of No. 2 was 2.22 million taels, making it the largest shipping company. On December 26, 1877, the Steamship Merchants Bureau reached an agreement with two British-funded shipping companies, Jardine Matheson & Co. and Swire & Co., Ltd. to jointly monopolize China's water transportation. Due to lagging behind their opponents in terms of system, the British-funded shipping companies soon regained dominance. status.
In 1881, the "Steamship Investment Regulations" drafted by Tang Tingshu and approved by Li Hongzhang were officially promulgated and implemented. In the same year, the capital of 1 million taels of silver was recruited.
In 1882, the share capital of China Steamship Merchants Company increased to 2 million taels, and Xu Run subscribed for another 240,000 taels, keeping the share capital ratio unchanged. Xu Run raised a large amount of equity capital from relatives and friends, allowing Xu Run to control more than half of the equity capital of the Steamship Merchants Company.
In 1882, Li Hongzhang appointed Zheng Guanying, the former comprador of Swire Pacific, as the assistant office manager of the Steamship Investment Promotion Bureau. In 1883, he was officially appointed as the general office manager, responsible for the company's business.