Foreign trading houses in late Qing China dealt with Chinese merchants through a 买办, a comprador. After 1842, compradors handled the firms’ buying and selling with inland Chinese merchants for a commission. They also hired, managed and guaranteed the firms’ Chinese employees.
A comprador needed a guarantor of his own and often paid a deposit. The guarantor signed a letter of guarantee, witnessed by the foreign firm’s agent and signed by the consulate. Compradors were the richest Chinese merchants of the late Qing.