»For my part, I firmly believe that China will become considerably more powerful than any other nation, should it wish to.«
Willy Merck, 1888

In 1888, Willy Merck, a member of the eighth generation of the Merck family of entrepreneurs, visits China during a trip around the world. His trip is not only for educational purposes. The company also wants to explore the possibility of trade relations. Zhōngguó, which means »Middle Kingdom« in Mandarin and how Chinais referred to by its inhabitants, impresses the 28-year-old chemist, who predicts a great future for the country. And he was right.

The oldest documentable business contact dates back to the 1897/98 annual report: The company sends special offers to its customers – including China, where sales total 11,969 marks. The first customer known by name is J. Llewellyn & Co. in Shanghai.

In 1911, the company appoints Voelkel & Schroeder Ltd, Shanghai, as its first representative for China. Nevertheless, sales in the following years fall significantly, particularly as a result of increasing trade restrictions on important products such as morphine and cocaine. In 1914, E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, publishes a price list for China for the first time – a measure that turns out to be entirely superfluous when all business with China comes to a standstill due to the outbreak of World War I.

Thereafter, the agency relationship with Voelkel & Schroeder Ltd. is not renewed, but is initially assigned to Karl Blickle and John Hildebrandt, who are replaced by Schmidt & Co. of Beijing in 1925 and 1927, respectively. Since this representation also falls short of expectations, the company establishes its own Scientific Department in Shanghai in 1930. The staff consists of two German pharmacists, a Chinese research assistant, a steno typist and three Chinese workers. However, the hoped-for increase in sales fails to materialize.

A major step is taken in 1933 with the establishment of E. Merck Chemical Co. Ltd., Shanghai, an affiliate of E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, the first company subsidiary in China. The objective is to sell industrial chemicals, reagents, laboratory chemicals, and specialty pharmaceutical products. Because it is considered too risky to establish an entirely independent legal entity in China, the company is a subsidiary of »Gesellschaft für Produkte von E. Merck mbH« set up for this purpose in Darmstadt. In 1946, E. Merck Chemical Co. Ltd, Shanghai, an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which had already had to cease operations during World War II, is liquidated.

Not until 1995 did the company re-open its own offices in Beijing and Shanghai. With the founding of E. Merck International Trading, Shanghai, an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in 1997, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is again represented by its own legal entities in China – a country that is of major importance to the company.

The oldest known business advertisement of the company in China is published in 1898 in the China Medical Missionary Journal, published by the Medical Missionary Association of China in Shanghai. At the beginning of the 20th century, the company has various representatives in China, including Schmidt & Co.

The representatives not only take care of purchasing, sales and advertising, but also send samples of substances of pharmaceutical interest to Darmstadt for analysis in the laboratories there. The long transport routes are problematic, sometimes leading to a decline in quality.

With the establishment of a Scientific Department in Shanghai, the company takes over advertising activities in China itself in 1930. In 1933, the company establishesits first subsidiary in China: E. Merck Chemical Co. Ltd, Shanghai, an affiliate of E. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany. Price lists provide information about the products offered.