From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cohong, often spelled as kehang or gonghang, was the Chinese import-export monopoly in Guangzhou (also called Canton) during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Over a time of about one century, before the First Opium War, the trade contacts between China and the western states was performed exclusively via the Cohong.
The cohong was a Guild of merchants that was authorized by the Chinese Central Government to handle trade with the west. They were the only group at the time to authorize this, making them the main controllers of all foreign trade in the nation.
