dominance in seaborne shipping. Two immigrant families, Rothschild and Baring, established merchant banking firms in London in the late 18th century and came to dominate world banking in the next century. A great impetus to country banking came in 1797 when, with England threatened by war, the Bank of England suspended cash payments. A handful of Frenchmen landed in Pembrokeshire, causing a panic. Shortly after this incident, Parliament authorised the Bank of England and country bankers to issue notes of low denomination. Chinese banking During the Qing dynasty, the private nationwide financial system in China was first developed by the Shanxi merchants, with the creation of so-called "draft banks". The first draft bank Rishengchang was created around 1823 in Pingyao. Some large draft banks had branches in Russia, Mongolia and Japan to facilitate international trade. Throughout the 19th century, the central Shanxi region became the de facto financial centre of Qing China. With the fall of the Qing dynasty, the financial centers gradually shifted to Shanghai, with western-style modern banks flourishing. Today, the financial centres in China are Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Japanese banking In 1868, the Meiji government attempted to formulate a functioning banking system, which continued until some time during 1881. They emulated French models. The Imperial mint began using imported machines from Britain in the early years of the Meiji period. Masayoshi Matsukata was a formative figure of a later banking initiative. Development of central banking The Bank of Amsterdam became a model for the functioning of a bank in the capacity of monetary exchange and started the development of central banks. An early central bank was the Sveriges Riksbank, established in 1668, although this was short-lived. In England in the 1690s, public funds were in short supply and were needed to finance the ongoing conflict with France. The credit of William III's government was so low in London that it was impossible for it to borrow the £1,200,000 (at 8 per cent) that the government wanted. In order to induce subscription to the loan, the subscribers were to be incorporated by the name of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England. The bank was given exclusive possession of the government's balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue banknotes. The lenders would give the government cash (bullion) and also issue notes against the government bonds, which can be lent again.