Geopolitical and International Economic Competition in Vladivostok during the Late Qing Dynasty
With the opening of sea routes to Vladivostok and the completion of sections of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1903,it became possible to reach the European part of Russia by sea and overland by rail alone.Thus,Vladivostok gained the opportunity to develop as a hub for East-West Eurasian trade.In terms of China's imports and exports,the volume of trade through the port rose from 223 million US dollars in 1894 t0 552 million US dollars by 1911.However,the apparent upward trend in East-West trade still relied mainly on Westem shipping companies that had developed the sea routes.Thus,Vladivostok,at the eastern end of the Trans-Siberian Railway,did not develop into an international port of global stature as expected.There were three reasons for this situation:first,Russia built a new commercial port in Dalian,which competed with Vladivostok for greater geopolitical and economic influence;second,Britain and Japan opposed Russian efforts to challenge the established international economic relations and geopolitical patterns and decided to form an alliance to obstruct Russian development;third,the restrictive policies set by the Russians limited the development of foreign interests in Vladivostok.
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