论近代科技对茶叶贸易的影响

The Influence of Modern Science and Technology on Tea Trade

茶叶在近代贸易中起着重要作用。在世界进入统一的全球市场过程中,茶叶同咖啡、可可等其他上瘾性饮品一样,为西方各国竞相推崇。尤其是茶叶,成为世界第一大饮料,在英国,茶叶消费量巨大,需要大量从中国进口。茶叶源自中国,中国一直以茶叶作为对外贸易的利器,但市场的变化剥夺了中国在茶叶市场上的优势地位。英国人盗取中国的茶种和技术,利用近代发展起来的科学技术,大力发展茶叶生产,扭转了其在茶叶贸易中的被动地位,进而削减中国的茶叶市场份额,并且利用印、锡茶叶抢占中国市场。

Tea plays an important role in modern trade. As the world enters a unified global market, tea, like other addictive drinks, such as coffee and cocoa, competes in Western countries. In particular, tea has become the world＇s largest drink in the United Kingdom, with huge consumption quantities of imports from China. Tea originated in China, and was used in China as an advantage in terms of foreign trade. However, the changes in the market deprived China of its superiority in the tea market. The British exploited the cultivation of tea and technology in China through their newly-emerged science and technology to develop tea production, thus reversing their passive position in the tea trade, and offsetting China＇s tea market share by seizing the Chinese market with the use of Indian tin tea.