Abstract: The tea industry in Fujian experienced an all-round decline in the 1930s. Plantations were closed as farmers fled to seek other means for survival. To rescue the dire situation and reinvigorate the business, the then provincial government guided the industry to organize tea trade cooperatives. Through the organization, tea farmers could secure badly needed loans and begin to coordinate with peers in production, transportation, sales, and marketing to return to the business. The efforts effectively improved operational efficiency and extended market reaches. The movement became exceedingly popular throughout the province. The change of political system and the Sino-Japanese war invariably altered the course of the industry’s development. Hence, the period between 1935-1949 had three rather distinctive phases that focused on poverty relief, operation stabilization, and economic recovery. In hindsight, the establishment of trade cooperatives for the local tea industry initiated by the movement literary revived the production and distribution system and significantly contributed financially to the defense of the devastating nation in Sino-Japanese war.