Exports of merchandise to China in the fiscal year about to end will be larger than those of any preceding year in our history. Ten years ago our exports to China were less than $3,000,000, and to China and Hong Kong combined little more than $6,000,000. In the fiscal year ending 1899, our exports to China will be more than $13,000,000, and to Hong Kong more than $6,000,000, making a total of more than $20,000,000, or three times that of a decade earlier. That the bulk of exports to Hong Kong may properly be considered as ultimately destined for consumption in China, is shown by the fact that the official reports of the imports into China show that more than forty-four per cent of these imports are from the port of Hong Kong. The 1899 exports to China and Hong Kong combined will show a gain of nearly or quite twenty-five per cent over those of last year, while the total exports from the United States for the fiscal year 1899 will be little if any in excess of those of last year. This shows a more rapid growth in our exports to this part of the world than elsewhere. The following table, prepared by the Treasury Bureau of Statistics, shows the value of our exports to China and Hong Kong during the past decade: _Year ending_ _June 30._ _China._ _Hong Kong._ _Total._ 1889 $2,791,128 $3,686,384 $6,477,512 1890 2,946,206 4,439,153 7,385,362 1891 8,701,008 4,768,697 13,469,705 1892 5,663,497 4,894,049 10,557,546 1893 3,900,457 4,216,602 8,117,059 1894 5,862,429 4,209,847 10,072,273 1895 3,693,840 4,253,040 7,856,880 1896 6,921,933 4,691,201 11,613,134 1897 11,924,433 6,060,039 17,984,472 1898 9,992,894 6,265,200 16,258,094 1899 (estimated) 13,500,000 6,500,000 20,000,000 Significant as these figures are, a full understanding of our trade conditions in the far East, and the importance of that market to our prospects, can hardly be gained without a backward glance over the events of the past three decades.