Information capacity in the mirror of foreign trade data? A case study of Chinese Maritime Customs, 1864–1938

Abstract This paper introduces a new approach to explore the information capacity of the Chinese Maritime Customs from 1864 to 1938. It employs a mirror analysis by comparing Chinese Maritime Customs' international trade data with that of China's major trading partners: the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Findings reveal that Chinese Maritime Customs' improvements in measuring foreign trade frequently coincided with its institutional reforms. The results highlight that these improvements were not uniform across different regions. Specifically, the persistent discrepancies between Chinese Maritime Customs’ and Japanese data underscore the influence of geopolitics since late 19th century.