Banque Industrielle de Chine
The Banque Industrielle de Chine (BIC, "Industrial Bank of China"; ) was a French bank with its main activities in China and French Indochina. It was created in 1913, expanded rapidly, but closed in 1921 because of the political context in China, causing a political controversy in France. Its activity was continued by the Franco-Chinese Bank, in China until the 1950s and in Indochina until the 1970s. Background From the late 19th century, the Banque de l'Indochine was tasked by the French government to support French commercial, industrial and strategic interests in China, but its conservative stance elicited frustration in French official circles. It was perceived in contrast to the greater dynamism of its British and German counterparts, especially the Deutsch-Asiatische Bank. In an internal Foreign Ministry note of , diplomat Philippe Berthelot, who in 1907 would become the ministry's head of Asian affairs, developed the case for a new institution that would take over the existing Chinese offices of the Banque de l'Indochine and finance accelerated French inroads into the Chinese market. These concerns became more salient following the 1911 Revolution in China, as French diplomats and political forces such as the Radical Party were eager to support the