Politics, Trade and the Sale of Indian Tea to Tibet: Failure of Dumping of Indian Tea to Tibet During the Late Qing and Republican China Period

Abstract

Since the late Qing dynasty, the sales volume of Sichuan brick tea in Tibet kept dropping, resulting in a sales crisis for it in Tibet a fear of the occupation of the Tibetan tea market by Indian tea due to its convenient traffic and low prices. During the dull sales of Sichuan brick tea in Tibet, Britain took various means, and even used military force to make Indian tea enter Tibet, whereas Indian tea was not sold in Tibet on a large scale, but only sporadically. The position of Chinese tea in Tibet was never shaken as was supposed by some at the time or later. The attempt for Indian tea on which Britain placed high hopes to be sold in Tibet was frustrated by the conflict between the central government and the Tibetan local government, the longstanding preference of the Tibetans for Sichuan brick tea, etc. The attempt of the British colonists to dump Indian tea into Tibet failed. In the meantime, with sea transport and price advantages, Yunnan tea made up for the reduction of Sichuan brick tea, and took up half of the Tibetan tea market.