Critical Discourse Analysis in Hong Kong Historiography

Historiography
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The treaty between China and the United Kingdom known as the treaty of Nanking was made to improve trade relations between China and the United Kingdom that had been threatened by the Opium war between 1839 and 1842. The Opium war between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Ireland was ended by the signing of this treaty in August 1842. Foreign trade was vital for the development of these countries at this point in history, The Nanking treaty served the fundamental purpose of changing the framework of trade that had been dictated by the Canton system of trade.
Looking at the treaty of Nanking from a foreign trade perspective, most of the articles within it are focused on ensuring that the British Government and all its citizens interested in carrying out their trade within the borders of China do so without interference or restrictions hindering them from freely interacting economically with members of China and Britain located in the country. The first signs of how the treaty of Nanking influenced the direction of economic growth for China are evident in the fifth article of the treaty where British merchants who had been forced by the Chinese government to trade exclusively with Hong merchants were allowed to trade with anyone they wanted to. Debts owed by China to British merchants were also paid as an incentive to improve the trade relations between them.
Scholars believe that the journey towards China’s position as a global powerhouse wouldn’t have been possible without Britain’s strategy to take control of Hong Kong. After the Emperor of China ceded to her Majesty, the Queen of England, Britain was able to develop ports in Hong Kong where they would run their trade from the ships docked in these ports. Although China lost a lot of income paying the demanded debts as stated by Britain in the treaty of Nanking, the knowledge about foreign trade as depicted by British merchants benefited China in the long run. All the ports that Britain had developed in Hong Kong over the years were left behind creating a foreign trade head start in developing international trade.
Themes of political and economic dominance are evident in the topics related to China’s rise to becoming a global powerhouse. Another theme that can be noticed concerning the treaty of Nanking is the theme of justice as can be seen in the fifth, sixth, and seventh article of the treaty where the British government required China to pay millions of dollars to cover the dues that they owed to British merchants and to compensate them for violent and unjust treatment that prevented the Britons from trading peacefully.
Before the opium war, China had a very efficient and favourable balance of trade. It had no major objectives to fully rely on foreign trade to boost its economy since its economy was already stable. Britain played a role in the weakening o...