Is China Merchants a military industry or a civilian industry?
Civil industry. China Merchants Bureau for Shipping, referred to as "China Merchants Bureau", is the first shipping enterprise in the modern history of China, and also the first modern private enterprise in China. It is a "government-supervised and commercial enterprise" founded by Li Hongzhang. Its main business is grain transportation and various passenger and cargo transportation businesses. Although military materials can also be transported according to the contract, they belong to the form of renting civilian ships by the military. Therefore, China Merchants Group is a private enterprise. The slogan of the Westernization School to establish civilian industry is "seeking wealth", while the slogan of establishing military industry is "self-improvement". The establishment of China Shipping Merchants Bureau not only marked the birth of modern shipping industry in China, but also promoted the development of modern national capitalist industry in China.