Introduction

Political and trade relations between nations cannot be separated from the history and historical processes that have accompanied them over time in the relationship between the two countries. Thus, just as the Industrial Revolution was not an immediate or impromptu event, but rather the product of changes in the economic system occurring over the course of centuries, trade and political relations between countries are not the result of independent events, but rather the outcome of a series of actions and reactions over time. The aim of this book is to provide a picture of the political penetration and trade relations that Italy established with China, with particular reference to the period from the second half of the 19th century to the birth of the Fascist empire. As well as through a detailed survey of the existing literature, this work was achieved by making use of various unusual sources kept by the Diplomatic and Historical Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, supported by sources from other Archives such as the Bank of Italy’s Historical Archive, the Central State Archive and the National Library. The book is divided into these chapters: Chap. 2 analyses the political and economic context in China until 16 the Belle Époque; Chap. 3 concerns China and its transformations during the great divergence; Chap. 4 is about the economic conditions and developments in Italy and its efforts to close the gap with the other European imperialist powers; Chap. 5 looks at Italy and China’s trade and agreements; Chap. 6 deals with the relations between the two countries and the actions undertaken by Italy to penetrate China and to achieve equal standing with the other European powers there; Chap. 7 evolution of commercial relationship from 1970s to today and Chap. 8 draws some conclusions; in summarizing this historical period it shows how relations developed and changed from the golden age of the post-war period to the era of globalization.