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The Aufsichtsrat der Ostasiatischen Generalverwaltung (AOG) (Supervisory Board of the East Asian General Administration), also known as the A.O.G., is the administration governing a series of quasi-legal German-exclusive concessions along the coast of Eastern and Southern China.

History[]

Origins[]

The German Empire first acquired possessions in China through the 1898 Convention for the Lease of Tsingtau, permitting it the sole exercise of full sovereign rights over (but not actual ownership of) Kiatschou Bay, as well as a 30m wide neutral zone. Moreover, the treaty included rights for construction of railway lines and mining of local coal deposits. Over the next several decades Tsingtau grew at a rapid pace.

The former fishing village was laid out with wide streets, housing areas, and government buildings, with electrification throughout, a sewer system, and a safe drinking water supply. With the expansion of economic activity and public works, German banks opened branch offices, the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank being the most prominent. The completion of the Shantung Railroad in 1910 provided a connection to the Trans-Siberian Railway and thus allowed travel by train from Tsingtau to Berlin.

During the Weltkrieg the concession came under Japanese occupation, which would end only with the signing of the Tsingtau Accord in 1921. More importantly, however, the 1919 Treaty of Versailles granted Germany possession of France's former Indochinese colonies, and with them its Chinese concessions. These acquisitions, paired with the substantial pre-Weltkrieg investments in and around Tsingtau, placed Germany on similar footing to the other powers in China, and set the physical foundations for the future AOG.

The Formation of the German East Asia Society[]

German investment in China during the early 1920s continued to grow, but slowly, hampered by the Weltkrieg's enormous costs and the region's relative instability. Attitudes changed following the 1925 Shanghai Scramble, when Germany seized substantial portions of former British possessions in China, and its intervention in the 1927 Zhili-Fengtian War. Germany's commitment to ensuring a stable Chinese market was made clear, and its possessions had grown greater than ever, paving the way for a new era of prosperity.

However, a roadblock appeared when the new Qing Government's de-facto leader Wu Peifu, who had until then appeared favorable to German interests, refused to grant Germany any additional rights or concessions in China. This problem was compounded in 1928 when the Shanghai Treaty, to which Germany was a party, promised to keep all its signatories on equal trading terms. While Germany could continue to profit alongside the other powers, it could no longer make the best of its preeminent position, and felt constrained.

Meanwhile the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank, based out of Tsingtau, had been in talks with Sun Chuanfang since mid-1927 concerning a set of loans to help finance his considerable war debts, borne out of his suppression of the Northern Expedition and the then-ongoing Third Zhili-Fengtian War. Unwilling or unable to provide the necessary capital, the bank's head contacted the colonial authorities, and after some extensive lobbying an agreement was reached whereby Berlin would underwrite the bank's loans to Nanjing. The group of colonial officials, bankers, and business owners responsible became known as the "German East Asia Society".

When officials from the GEAS met Sun in late 1928, they presented him with terms similar to those rejected by Wu Peifu two years earlier. The Deutsche-Asiatische Bank and various German commercial entities would receive exclusive and virtually open access to resources in the League's interior. Tariffs, typically set by the Chinese Maritime Customs Service with multi-national foreign oversight, would be remitted for German imports. In return, Sun would receive further loans and extensive access to German military hardware. Eager to contest Wu Peifu's central government, and beholden to his outstanding debts, Sun had little choice but to sign.

The Creation of the AOG[]

Over the next several years this relationship flourished, as the Germans received informal concessions in several port cities, and dispatched a commission to train and reorganize Sun's armies. However, with the sudden eruption of the Shanghai Uprising in 1932, the GEAS came to face a serious publicity problem. German investments in China, which had previously seemed safe, were now thrown into doubt, and the full scale of its involvement in Sun Chuanfang's league became clear to the other treaty powers. This, combined with a recent corruption scandal implicating several of the Society's members, called for a serious reevaluation of the organization's role and nature.

Instead of stepping back, the GEAS stepped forward. Having realized that their de-facto rejection of the Shanghai Treaty's tenets had attracted no substantial international retaliation, they decided that domestic investor confidence might still be regained. Toward this end they formed the Aufsichtsrat der Ostasiatischen Generalverwaltung, or "AOG".

The new organization would imitate governmental organizations in its name and structure, aided by the positions several of its members held in the actual German government. In order to avoid future scandals, serious disputes involving East Asian businesses would be handled internally, with the board serving as mediator or even adjudicator for these "internal matters". Prospective investors would no longer need to have any understanding of the complicated Chinese market, and could instead select from several pre-approved investment packages. Paired with a marketing blitz, this made the process seem simple, and the AOG safe. Most importantly, for its first six months, the AOG guaranteed every investment made - a move subsidized by the Deutsche-Asiatische Bank, and possibly by the German government itself.

The GEAS' gamble paid off, and in the years since, the AOG's operations and reach have only grown. Most German-owned businesses in East Asia operate under its umbrella, and despite protests from both Japan and the United States, no real retaliatory action has taken place - neither power willing to upset the finely balanced status quo.

Politics[]

The Aufsichtsrat der Ostasiatischen Generalverwaltung is controlled by the Ostchina-Direktorium (OD, East China Board of Directors), a group of former East China Association Members based in Tsingtau.

As two of the organization's oldest and most important businesses, the Schantung-Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (SEG, Shandong Railway Company) and the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank (DAB, German-Asian Bank) play a major role in decision making. However, there are also other notable businesses under the AOG umbrella, namely Krupp (East Asian branch) and the Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG, Hamburg-America Line).

  • Julius Dorpmuller

    Julius Dorpmüller (Director of the SEG)

  • Siegmund Bodenheimer

    Siegmund Bodenheimer (Director of the DAB)

  • Alfried Krupp

    Alfried Krupp (Director of the Krupp East Asia)

  • Emil Helfferich2

    Emil Helfferich (Director of the HAPAG)

Non-economic related organizations mainly include the Tsingtau Clique (TC, Qingdao Clique), which existed long before the establishment of AOG. It is composed of German immigrants and exerts influence on new immigrants. Among the celebrities are Emil Krebs and Wilhelm Ludwig Schrameier, both of whom are deceased.

Military[]

The Aufsichtsrat der Ostasiatischen Generalverwaltung has a small force called Hilfstruppe (Auxiliary Force), which is nominally owned by the League of Eight Provinces. In the League’s official propaganda, they are a foreign force assisting Sun Chuanfang in countering the rebellion. They are concentrated in coastal cities in southeastern China. There are one each in Wenzhou and Nantong, and two each in Guangzhou and Xiamen. Most of the members of Hilfstruppe experienced the war in China, but after 1928, they were more at rest (except for 1932, when Shanghai Uprising occurred). Hilfstruppe is well equipped, but too old and mixed with Chinese and German models. When League and Indochina are not safe, they will follow the command of Alexander von Falkenhausen dispatched by German East Asia.

Primary Partners[]

DAB, the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank, is one of the most advanced foreign banks in China and the most powerful bank within the AOG. It is famous for foreign exchange, foreign trade financing and loans to East Asian countries. Therefore, it has become a popular choice for foreign and local corporate deposits. In addition, it also provides financial support to mines and railways.

SEG, or Shantung Eisenbahn Gesellschaft, is headquartered in Shandong, and is directly responsible for the railways running throughout Shandong Province. The company has also made forays into purchasing, managing, and constructing railways elsewhere, particularly in the League of Eight Provinces, and SEG is planned to begin operations along the new and much anticipated Central China Railway between Hangzhou and Nanchang. The company is known for favoring engineers from Germany, despite the qualifications of young and upcoming Chinese engineers.

Fried. Krupp Grusonwerk AG, often referred to simply as "Krupp", is famous for its arms production in Germany, and its East Asian branch supplies armaments to the Chinese Government, as well as various sub-governmental entities. The rivalry between the Southern Zhili Clique and the Northern Zhili-led Central Government, as well as the ongoing conflict in the MinGan Insurgent Zone, have made the League of Eight Provinces among the company's most valued clients.

HAPAG has operations all over the world and has always maintained most of the routes in Germany. With the passage of time and the instability of the LEP, they smuggled and sold Chinese cultural relics, creating a batch of gray income.

TC mainly helps German immigrants find jobs and settle down. They usually recommend new immigrants to work in the AOG's various affiliated companies.

With the help of the above five organizations, the AOG has prospered and become the most influential representative of German interests along China's southeastern coast.

See also[]

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