Abstract: The fact that internal affairs, diplomacy and foreign debt intertwined was a characteristic in modern China. This feature made it possible to use nationalism in a strategic and utilitarian way. The notion of borrowing debt to save the country originated from the northeast railway foreign debt negotiation, and it originally aimed to achieve balance among the Western Powers．In the constitutional movement at the closing years of the Qing Dynasty，it also extended into the internal affairs and became the driving force of public opinions for the petition of the Congress, and was one stimulus for the state-owned policy for the key railways. Zheng Xiaoxu played a unique role in it. Zheng's experience and ideas not only fully indicated the dilemma between utilizing the foreign investment and maintaining the national interests in modern China, but also revealed the political characteristic of the Constitutionalist group．