TRADE WITH THE EAST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 191, 15 August 1933, Page 6

TRADE WITH THE EAST.

NEED FOR ACTION

1 10 tlie Editor.) Mr C J. Church, of Hongkong, China, has evolved in Christchurch an entirely new method of opening up our eSport trade to China. He wants us to invite a party of Chinese merchants to come here and see what New Zealand can offer. Well, if we invite Chinese buyers, there is no reason why we \ should not 'invite Hindus, Japanese, Malayans, Dutch, French and all and sundry traders, in the East as well. Again, if Mr. Church's Chinese merchants will find incentive enough to coma to a Dominion known for its attitude towards Chinese and determined to reciprocate with only one country in the world (not China), this will be only when China will bo acutely starving for our particular goods and will be unable to obtain them from anywhere else But Mr. Church knows well that Chinese merchants can get these products from every- j where. Other countries are supplying them, are coming to them themselves, and are bringing goods direct to them. So this very' interesting and very cautious idea of Mr. Church is simply a polite advice to us "to sit on the fence and to wait." Mr. Church, advocating trade wifh the East recently, wrote that for the last ten years his activities were given to building up fa China a business based on the successful introduction of Western goods : ; to Eastern Chinese buyers. He should have been staying at home, inviting Chinese merchants to visit him to see what he could offer. Yet, in spite of himself, he actually went to China in person—to introduce Western goods. Mr. Church should know that New Zealand produce and products will not sell themselves nowadays. Nor will good advices sell our goods. Nor will huge Eastern markets come to us by fiat. ALEX. S. TETZNER.