 In August that same year, Qing Superintendent for Trade for the Northern Ports Li Hongzhang lifted restrictions on coastal trade and signed the Regulations for Maritime and Overland Trade Between Chinese and Korean Subjects, and two further agreements the following year, which granted Chinese merchants permission to trade in Korea.Unlike in other Asian countries, 90% of the early overseas Chinese in Korea came from Shandong, rather than the southern coastal provinces of Guangdong and Fujian.During the late 19th and early 20th century Shandong was hard hit by famine, drought, and banditry especially in its northwest, and caused many to migrate to other parts of Shandong, China, and Korea.