Hong Kong: How the Treaty of Nanking has Made Hong Kong Today a Global Power House of Economy

The Nanking Treaty Analysis
The Nanking treaty revolutionized the way that Hong Kong carried out international trade. It brought about a change that is felt to this day and one that is going to be around for a very long time. At the heart of the revolution that the treaty had was opening up Hong Kong to the British investors to come to the island. Relative to the number of Britons that had access to the island there was some significant integration of the Hong Kong people and the Britons. One of the aspects that is common when two cultures interact, they tend to have influence between each other. In this case, most of the people from Hong Kong used mandarin however with the interaction that the Chinese culture had with English, there was a transformation. With the influence that English had brought on to Hong Kong, schools with the British education system set the stage for the interaction between the two cultures. While this may seem far-fetched, the element of the English language between the two cultures, increased the level of interaction between the people. The Chinese and the Britons could now easily communicate with one another without the communication barrier. Communication forms a very strong backbone in social interactions and this extends to the economic interactions. This formed the platform for the industries that later mushroomed in the island. The government took up strategic measures to boost the level of education among the citizens by introducing educational programs which were quite ambitious. Other than setting up primary and secondary along with tertiary institutions. This formed a broad base for the development that was taking place at the time and also formed a very firm foundation for the future, which can explain the level of growth that is found in Hong Kong today.[. US-China Institute. Treaty of Nanjing (Nanking), 1842. Los Angeles: US-China Institute, 2015.http://china.usc.edu/treaty-nanjing-nanking-1842] [. US-China Institute. Treaty of Nanjing (Nanking), 1842. Los Angeles: US-China Institute, 2015.http://china.usc.edu/treaty-nanjing-nanking-1842]
One of the other elements that played a very crucial role is the abolition of the Canton Trading system. Prior to the abolition of the Canton system, Britain did not have much access to China as part of the trade partner. Ideally, China used the system to control the trade elements with the West. This meant that much of the trade was directed towards the southern port of Canton. China had the ability to control trade relative to the fact that, all of the trade in and out of china had to go through the port. Britain among other nations had a challenge moving their merchandise into the country. The system had been put in place as a response mechanisms from the threat that china faced from abroad. With the abolition of the Canton system, Hong Kong opened its doors to a world of commerce with the help of the British. The British and other merchants now had access to Canton, Ningbo, Xiamen, Shanghai and Fuzhou. With the open access to the various other ports, Hong Kong business exponentially grew. Businesses sprung up and industries mushroomed along with supportive businesses such as banks. This was attributed to the fact that more merchants were able to do business in Hong Kong. The element of the open ports, made significant leaps as the British also had a chance to expand their reach using the new found frontiers. Although the ports were quite significant, they represented one of the first steps that Britain took to humiliate the Chinese and expand its influence in the business arena. This further led to the growth of Hong Kong with investors favoring the island over the main land. With the world now focusing on Hong Kong the growth the emerging market was experiencing, Hong Kong became the center of salt manufacturing, sugar refining, rattan work, soap making, match making and cement manufacturing. These among others put Hong Kong on the world map, giving it the much needed advantage to take on the global market trends.[. Keller, Wolfgang; Ben Li, and Carol Shiue. "China's Foreign Trade: Perspectives from the Past 150 Years". World Economy 34, no. 6 (2011): 853-892.]
International business is very reliant on the ability to access the location in question. Most of the countries that have developed relative within the economic realm have either had massive resources or a very good location. In the case Hong Kong, the island is strategically located and relative to the fact that the British took advantage of the same, it is now one of the most developed islands. ...