Former Site of the Central Foreign Trade Bureau

Former Site of the Central Foreign Trade Bureau

The Former Site of the Central Foreign Trade Bureau is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Former Site of the Central Foreign Trade Bureau was established in Ruijin in April 1933 under the National Economic Affairs Commission of the Central Committee. It was an extremely important department in the economic development of the revolutionary base areas. Qian Zhiguang served as director (with Jiang A'ming and Liu Bingkui serving successively as deputy directors), and it had institutions such as the Business Department, Procurement Department, Accounting Department, Cashier Department, Storage Department, and Management Department. Initially, the staff numbered just over 30, later growing to more than 80.

The main tasks of the Central Foreign Trade Bureau were to manage foreign trade affairs in the Soviet areas, find ways to break the economic blockade imposed on the Central Soviet Area, ensure regular exchanges of local products with external goods, and eliminate the scissors difference between agricultural and industrial products. To strengthen its foreign trade efforts, the bureau successively set up foreign trade sub-bureaus in Jiangkou, Ganzhou; Tingzhou, Western Fujian; Luanshiwei, Huichang; and Zhixia, Ji’an, as well as 10 procurement offices at key export locations. This created a wide-reaching and multi-point foreign trade network. Through this, products from the Soviet areas such as grain and tungsten sand were transported to non-Soviet (Kuomintang-controlled) areas in exchange for urgently needed salt, medicine, and cloth for the military and civilians, thus ensuring the supply of essential materials in the Soviet region.

Those who worked and lived here included Director Qian Zhiguang, Deputy Directors Liu Bingkui and Jiang A'ming, heads of various departments, and some staff members.

In October 1934, the Foreign Trade Bureau followed the central authorities in leaving Ruijin.

In 2001, the State Economic and Trade Commission allocated funds to renovate the site, which is now a national revolutionary tradition education base for foreign trade and economic workers.