| The paper studies Gejiu tin industry’s development in modern China from the perspective of International Economic Integration, and holds that in modern China’s participation in International Economic Integration, Gejiu tin industry has undergone great changes in production scale, production technology and product sales, compared with previous times, and that accordingly it has become the pillar of Yunnan provincial finance and economy and foreign trade with all the economic benefits it brought. In this process, in order to meet the development needs of the international tin market, Gejiu tin producers have constantly improved production and integrated into the world market, thus accelerating Yunnan’s International Economic Integration. But it was also during this process that Gejiu tin industry has been severely impacted by fluctuations in the international economy and changes in the international situation.The paper is composed of six parts. The first part focuses on the development situation and development purposes of Gejiu tin mines before modern times. As early as in the Western Han Dynasty, Yunnan already started tin mining, but before the Opium War in 1840, Yunnan tin mining only met domestic market demand. At that time, tin production and development were on a small scale due to the backward production technology and the low demand for tin. The second part discusses the historical turning point in the development of modern Gejiu tin mines. As Yunnan is located on a plateau, transportation used to be inconvenient. After the Opium War, Gejiu tin began to land in international markets, but its exports were limited. The development of modern Gejiu tin mines embraced its historical turning point with the opening of Mengzi port. The improvement of modern traffic conditions finally contributed to the prosperity in Yunnan’s external exchanges and Gejiu’s foreign trade. The third part describes the different characteristics of modern and pre-modern mining development models of Yunnan, by first revealing that Yunnan mining industry was historically domestic market-oriented under the government control, then presenting the structural change that modern Yunnan mining development became dominated by private mining enterprises in order to meet the needs of international markets. The fourth part expounds on technological improvements and sales changes in modern Gejiu tin development, by analyzing production technology, products and export routes of Gejiu tin mines under traditional technological conditions, discussing the influence of Western technology on Gejiu tin development in modern times, and then illustrating the impact of direct sales to overseas markets by Yunnan tin smelting companies on Gejiu tin mines from the economic angle. The fifth part reveals the development scale and economic benefits of modern Gejiu tin mines and confirms that the economic benefits it brought became a strong support of Yunnan local finances. The sixth part analyzes the drawbacks of the international market-oriented model of modern tin mining. It was under the context of international economic integration that Gejiu tin mines got largely developed in modern times and formed its international market-oriented model. However, this model has serious drawbacks. Above all, Gejiu tin industry suffered frequently from price rises of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway Company controlled by French colonists. Second, Gejiu tin production and sales were also badly impacted by changes in the international tin market. Third, Gejiu tin production was almost paralyzed due to Japanese economic blockades and air strikes during the Anti-Japanese War.
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