Unequal treaty

Unequal treaty is the name given by the Chinese to a series of treaties signed during the 19th and early 20th centuries, between China (mostly referring to the Qing dynasty) and various Western powers (such as the British Empire, France, the German Empire, and the United States), the Russian Empire, and the Empire of Japan.[1] The agreements, often reached after a military defeat or a threat of military invasion, contained one-sided terms, requiring China to cede land, pay reparations, open treaty ports, give up tariff autonomy, legalise opium import, and grant extraterritorial privileges to foreign citizens.[2]

Unequal treaty
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese不平等條約
Simplified Chinese不平等条约
Korean name
Hangul불평등 조약
Hanja不平等條約
Japanese name
Kanji不平等条約
Kanaふびょうどうじょうやく

With the rise of Chinese nationalism and anti-imperialism in the 1920s, both the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party used the concept to characterize the Chinese experience of losing sovereignty between roughly 1840 to 1950. The term "unequal treaty" became associated with the concept of China's "century of humiliation", especially the concessions to foreign powers and the loss of tariff autonomy through treaty ports.

Japanese and Koreans also use the term to refer to several treaties that resulted in the loss of their sovereignty, to varying degrees.

China
A French political cartoon in 1898, China – the cake of Kings and Emperors, showing Britain, Germany, Russia, France and Japan dividing China.
The Eight-Nation Alliance inside the Chinese imperial palace, the Forbidden City, during a celebration ceremony after the signing of the Boxer Protocol, 1901.

In China, the term "unequal treaty" first came into use in the early 1920s.[3] Dong Wang, a professor of contemporary and modern Chinese history at the Gordon College in Massachusetts, United States, noted that "while the phrase has long been widely used, it nevertheless lacks a clear and unambiguous meaning" and that there is "no agreement about the actual number of treaties signed between China and foreign countries that should be counted as 'unequal'."[3]

Historian Immanuel Hsu states that the Chinese viewed the treaties they signed with Western powers and Russia as unequal "because they were not negotiated by nations treating each other as equals but were imposed on China after a war, and because they encroached upon China's sovereign rights ... which reduced her to semicolonial status".[4]

In response, historian Elizabeth Cobbs writes in American Umpire, her argument that "democratic capitalism" has never engaged in imperialism: "Ironically, however, the treaties also resulted partly from China's initial reluctance to consider any treaties whatsoever, since it viewed all other nations as inferior. It did not wish to be equal."[5]

In many cases, China was effectively forced to pay large amounts of financial reparations, open up ports for trade, cede or lease territories (such as Outer Manchuria and Outer Northwest China (including Zhetysu) to the Russian Empire, Hong Kong and Weihaiwei to the United Kingdom, Guangzhouwan to France, Kwantung Leased Territory and Taiwan to the Empire of Japan, the Jiaozhou Bay concession to the German Empire and concession territory in Tientsin, Shamian, Hankou, Shanghai etc.), and make various other concessions of sovereignty to foreign spheres of influence, following military threats.[6]

The earliest treaty later referred to as "unequal" was the 1841 Convention of Chuenpi negotiations during the First Opium War. The first treaty between China and the United Kingdom termed "unequal" was the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842.[6]

Following Qing China's defeat, treaties with Britain opened up five ports to foreign trade, while also allowing foreign missionaries, at least in theory, to reside within China. Foreign residents in the port cities were afforded trials by their own consular authorities rather than the Chinese legal system, a concept termed extraterritoriality.[6] Under the treaties, the UK and the US established the British Supreme Court for China and Japan and United States Court for China in Shanghai.

Chinese resentment

After World War I, patriotic consciousness in China focused on the treaties, which now became widely known as "unequal treaties". The Nationalist Party and the Communist Party competed to convince the public that their approach would be more effective.[6] Germany was forced to terminate its rights, the Soviet Union surrendered them, and the United States organized the Washington Conference to negotiate them.[7]

After Chiang Kai-shek declared a new national government in 1927, the Western powers quickly offered diplomatic recognition, arousing anxiety in Japan.[8] The new government declared to the Great Powers that China had been exploited for decades under unequal treaties, and that the time for such treaties was over, demanding they renegotiate all of them on equal terms.[9]

Towards the end of the unequal treaties

After the Boxer Rebellion and the signing of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902, Germany started to reassess the policy approach towards China. In 1907 Germany suggested a German-Chinese-American agreement that never materialised. Thus China entered the new era of ending unequal treaties on March 14, 1917 when it broke off diplomatic relations with Germany. China declared war on Germany on August 17 1917.[10]

These acts voided the unequal treaty of 1861, resulting in the reinstatement of Chinese control on the concessions of Tianjin and Hankou to China. In 1919, China refused to sign the Peace Treaty of Versailles. On May 20, 1921, China secured with the German-Chinese peace treaty (Deutsch-chinesischer Vertrag zur Wiederherstellung des Friedenszustandes), considered the first equal treaty between China and a European nation.[11]

Many of the other treaties China considers unequal were repealed during the Second Sino-Japanese War, which started in 1937 and merged into the larger context of World War II. The United States Congress ended American extraterritoriality in December 1943. Significant examples outlasted World War II: treaties regarding Hong Kong remained in place until Hong Kong's 1997 handover, though in 1969, to improve Sino-Soviet relations in the wake of military skirmishes along their border, the People's Republic of China was forced to reconfirm the 1858 Treaty of Aigun and 1860 Treaty of Peking.

Japan and Korea

When the American Commodore Matthew Perry reached Japan in 1854, it signed the Convention of Kanagawa. Its importance was limited. Much more important was the Harris Treaty of 1858 negotiated by U.S. envoy Townsend Harris.[12]

Korea's first unequal treaty was not with the West but instead with Japan. The Ganghwa Island incident, 1875, saw Japan send Captain Inoue Yoshika and the warship Un'yō with the implied threat of military action to coerce the Korean Kingdom of Joseon. This forced Korea to open its doors to Japan by signing the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876.[13]

The unequal treaties ended at various times for the countries involved. Japan's victories in the 1894–95 First Sino-Japanese War convinced many in the West that unequal treaties could no longer be enforced on Japan. Korea's unequal treaties with European states became largely null and void in 1910, when it was annexed by Japan.[14]

Mongolia

Selected list of treaties

Imposed on China
Treaty Year Imposer Imposed on
  English name    Chinese name 
Treaty of Nanking 南京條約 1842  United Kingdom  Qing dynasty
Treaty of the Bogue 虎門條約 1843  United Kingdom
Treaty of Wanghia 中美望廈條約 1844  United States
Treaty of Whampoa 黃埔條約 1844 France
Treaty of Canton 中瑞廣州條約 1847 Sweden-Norway
Treaty of Kulja 中俄伊犁塔爾巴哈臺通商章程 1851  Russia
Treaty of Aigun 璦琿條約 1858  Russia
Treaty of Tientsin (1858) 天津條約 1858 France
 United Kingdom
 Russia
 United States
Convention of Peking 北京條約 1860  United Kingdom
France
 Russia
Treaty of Tientsin (1861) 中德通商条约 1861  Prussia, also for Deutscher Zollverein
Chefoo Convention 煙臺條約 1876  United Kingdom
Treaty of Livadia 里瓦幾亞條約 1879  Russia
Treaty of Saint Petersburg 伊犁條約 1881  Russia
Treaty of Tientsin (1885) 中法新約 1885 France
Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking 中葡北京條約 1887  Portugal
Treaty of Shimonoseki (Treaty of Maguan) 馬關條約 1895  Japan
Li–Lobanov Treaty 中俄密約 1896  Russia
Convention for the Lease of the Liaotung Peninsula 旅大租地条约 1898  Russia
Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory 展拓香港界址專條 1898  United Kingdom
Treaty of Kwangchow Wan 廣州灣租界條約 1899 France
Boxer Protocol 辛丑條約 1901  United Kingdom
 United States
 Japan
 Russia
France
 Germany
 Italy
Austria-Hungary
 Belgium
 Spain
 Netherlands
Simla Convention 西姆拉條約 1914  United Kingdom  Republic of China
Twenty-One Demands 二十一條 1915  Japan
Sino-Japanese Joint Defence Agreement 中日共同防敵軍事協定 1918  Japan
Tanggu Truce 塘沽協定 1933  Japan

Imposed on Japan
Treaty Year Imposer Imposed on
English name Japanese name
Convention of Kanagawa 日米和親条約 1854[15]  United States Tokugawa shogunate
Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty 日英和親条約 1854[16]  United Kingdom
Treaty of Shimoda 下田条約 1855  Russia
Ansei Treaties
Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the United States and Japan (Harris Treaty) 安政条約 1858[17]  United States
Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Japan  Netherlands
Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the Russian Empire and Japan  Russia
Treaty of Amity and Commerce between British Empire and Japan  United Kingdom
Treaty of Amity and Commerce between France and Japan France
Prussian-Japanese Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation 日普修好通商条約 1861[18] Prussia
Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation between Austria and Japan 日墺修好通商航海条約 1868[19] Austria-Hungary  Japan
Spanish-Japanese Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation 日西修好通商航海条約 1868[20]  Spain
Retrocession following the Triple Intervention
Convention of retrocession of the Liaodong Peninsula		 遼東還付条約 1895[21] France
 Russia
 Germany

Imposed on Korea
Treaty Year Imposer Imposed on
English name Korean name
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876
(Treaty of Ganghwa)		 강화도 조약 (江華島條約) 1876[22]  Japan Joseon dynasty
United States–Korea Treaty of 1882 조미수호통상조약 (朝美修好通商條約) 1882[23]  United States
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1882
(Treaty of Chemulpo)		 제물포 조약 (濟物浦條約) 1882  Japan
China–Korea Treaty of 1882
(Joseon-Qing Communication and Commerce Rules)		 조청상민수륙무역장정 (朝淸商民水陸貿易章程) 1882[24]  Qing dynasty
Germany–Korea Treaty of 1883 조독수호통상조약 (朝獨修好通商條約) 1883[25]  Germany
United Kingdom–Korea Treaty of 1883     조영수호통상조약 (朝英修好通商條約) 1883[26]  United Kingdom
Russia–Korea Treaty of 1884 조로수호통상조약 (朝露修好通商條約) 1884[27]  Russia
Italy–Korea Treaty of 1884 조이수호통상조약 (朝伊修好通商條約) 1884[28]  Italy
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1885
(Treaty of Hanseong)		 한성조약 (漢城條約) 1885[29]  Japan
France–Korea Treaty of 1886 조불수호통상조약 (朝佛修好通商條約) 1886[30] France
Austria–Korea Treaty of 1892 조오수호통상조약 (朝奧修好通商條約) 1892[31] Austria-Hungary
Belgium–Korea Treaty of 1901 조벨수호통상조약 (朝白修好通商條約) 1901[32]  Belgium  Korean Empire
Denmark–Korea Treaty of 1902 조덴수호통상조약 (朝丁修好通商條約) 1902[33]  Denmark
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1904 한일의정서 (韓日議定書) 1904[34]  Japan[35]
Japan-Korea Protocol of August 1904 제1차 한일협약 (第一次韓日協約) 1904[36]  Japan[37]
Japan-Korea Protocol of April 1905 1905[38]  Japan[39]
Japan-Korea Protocol of August 1905 1905[40]  Japan[41]
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905
 제2차 한일협약 (第二次韓日協約)
(을사조약 (乙巳條約))		 1905[42]  Japan[43]
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907 제3차 한일협약 (第三次韓日協約)
(정미조약 (丁未條約))		 1907[44]  Japan
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910 한일병합조약 (韓日倂合條約) 1910[45]  Japan

Modern uses

In 2018, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad compared Chinese Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects in Malaysia to unequal treaties.[46][47] He said "They know that when they lend big sums of money to a poor country, in the end they may have to take the project for themselves," and "China knows very well that it had to deal with unequal treaties in the past imposed upon China by Western powers. So China should be sympathetic toward us. They know we cannot afford this".[48]

See also
  • Western imperialism in Asia
  • Concessions in China
  • List of Chinese treaty ports
  • Sick man of Asia
  • Century of humiliation
  • Client state
  • Puppet state
  • Most favoured nation
  • Normanton incident

References
  1. "Unequal Treaties with China". Encyclopédie d’histoire numérique de l’Europe. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  2. Fravel, M. Taylor (October 1, 2005). "Regime Insecurity and International Cooperation: Explaining China's Compromises in Territorial Disputes". International Security. 30 (2): 46–83. doi:10.1162/016228805775124534. ISSN 0162-2889. S2CID 56347789.
  3. Wang, Dong. (2005). China's Unequal Treaties: Narrating National History. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. pp. 1–2. ISBN 9780739112083.
  4. Hsu, Immanuel C. Y. (1970). The Rise of Modern China. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 239. ISBN 0195012402.
  5. Cobbs, Elizabeth (2013). American Umpire. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 111. ISBN 9780674055476.
  6. Dong Wang, China's Unequal Treaties: Narrating National History (Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2005).
  7. Akira Iriye, After Imperialism: The Search for a New Order in the Far East, 1921–1931 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1965; Reprinted: Chicago: Imprint Publications, 1990), passim.
  8. Akira Iriye, After Imperialism: The Search for a New Order in the Far East, 1921–1931 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1965; Reprinted: Chicago: Imprint Publications, 1990), passim.
  9. "CHINA: Nationalist Notes". TIME. June 25, 1928. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  10. Andreas Steen: Deutsch-chinesische Beziehungen 1911-1927: Vom Kolonialismus zur „Gleichberechtigung“. Eine Quellensammlung. Berlin, Akademie-Verlag 2006, S. 221.
  11. Andreas Steen: Deutsch-chinesische Beziehungen 1911-1927: Vom Kolonialismus zur „Gleichberechtigung“. Eine Quellensammlung. Berlin, Akademie-Verlag 2006, S. 221.
  12. Michael R. Auslin (2006). Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy. Harvard University Press. pp. 17, 44. ISBN 9780674020313.
  13. Preston, Peter Wallace. [1998] (1998). Blackwell Publishing. Pacific Asia in the Global System: An Introduction. ISBN 0-631-20238-2
  14. I. H. Nish, "Japan Reverses the Unequal Treaties: The Anglo-Japanese Commercial Treaty of 1894," Journal of Oriental Studies (1975) 13#2 pp 137-146.
  15. Auslin, Michael R. (2004) Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy, p. 17., p. 17, at Google Books
  16. Auslin, p. 30., p. 30, at Google Books
  17. Auslin, pp. 1, 7., p. 1, at Google Books
  18. Auslin, p. 71., p. 71, at Google Books
  19. Auslin, Michael R. (2004) Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy, p. 154., p. 154, at Google Books
  20. Howland, Douglas (2016). International Law and Japanese Sovereignty: The Emerging Global Order in the 19th Century. Springer. ISBN 9781137567772.
  21. Dreyer, June Teufel (2016). Middle Kingdom and Empire of the Rising Sun: Sino-Japanese Relations, Past and Present. Oxford University Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-19-537566-4.
  22. Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington, D.C., 1921–1922. (1922). Korea's Appeal to the Conference on Limitation of Armament, p. 33., p. 33, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty Between Japan and Korea, dated February 26, 1876."
  23. Korean Mission, p. 29., p. 29, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between the United States and Korea. Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation dated May 22, 1882."
  24. Moon, Myungki. "Korea-China Treaty System in the 1880s and the Opening of Seoul: Review of the Joseon-Qing Communication and Commerce Rules," Archived October 5, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Journal of Northeast Asian History, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Dec 2008), pp. 85–120.
  25. Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Germany and Korea. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated November 23, 1883."
  26. Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Great Britain and Korea ... dated November 26, 1883."
  27. Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Russia. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated June 25, 1884."
  28. Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Italy. Treaty of Friendship and Commerce dated June 26, 1884."
  29. Yi, Kwang-gyu and Joseph P. Linskey. (2003). Korean Traditional Culture, p. 63., p. 63, at Google Books; excerpt, "The so-called Hanseong Treaty was concluded between Korea and Japan. Korea paid compensation for Japanese losses. Japan and China worked out the Tien-Tsin Treaty, which ensured that both Japanese and Chinese troops withdraw from Korea."
  30. Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and France. Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation dated June 4, 1886."
  31. Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Austria. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated July 23, 1892."
  32. Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Belgium. Treaty of Amity and Commerce dated March 23, 1901."
  33. Korean Mission, p. 32., p. 32, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty and Diplomatic Relations Between Korea and Denmark. Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation dated July 15, 1902."
  34. Korean Mission, p. 34., p. 34, at Google Books; excerpt, "Treaty of Alliance Between Japan and Korea, dated February 23, 1904."
  35. Note that the Korean Mission to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament in Washington, D.C., 1921–1922 identified this as "Treaty of Alliance Between Japan and Korea, dated February 23, 1904"
  36. Korean Mission, p. 35., p. 35, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated August 22, 1904."
  37. Note that the Korean diplomats in 1921–1922 identified this as "Alleged Treaty, dated August 22, 1904"
  38. Korean Mission, p. 35., p. 35, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated April 1, 1905."
  39. Note that the Korean diplomats in 1921–1922 identified this as "Alleged Treaty, dated April 1, 1905"
  40. Korean Mission, p. 35., p. 35, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated August 13, 1905."
  41. Note that the Korean diplomats in 1921–1922 identified this as "Alleged Treaty, dated August 13, 1905"
  42. Korean Mission, p. 35., p. 35, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated November 17, 1905."
  43. Note that the Korean diplomats in 1921–1922 identified this as "Alleged Treaty, dated November 17, 1905"
  44. Korean Mission, p. 35., p. 35, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated July 24, 1907."
  45. Korean Mission, p. 36., p. 36, at Google Books; excerpt, "Alleged Treaty, dated August 20, 1910."
  46. Bland, Ben (June 24, 2018). "Malaysian backlash tests China's Belt and Road ambitions". Financial Times. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  47. "Analysis | New Malaysian government steps back from spending, Chinese projects". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  48. Beech, Hannah (August 20, 2018). "'We Cannot Afford This': Malaysia Pushes Back Against China's Vision". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 22, 2022.

Bibliography
  • Auslin, Michael R. (2004). Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01521-0; OCLC 56493769
  • Hsü, Immanuel Chung-yueh (1970). The Rise of Modern China. New York: Oxford University Press. OCLC 300287988
  • Nish, I. H (1975). "Japan Reverses the Unequal Treaties: The Anglo-Japanese Commercial Treaty of 1894". Journal of Oriental Studies. 13 (2): 137–146.
  • Perez, Louis G (1999). Japan Comes of Age: Mutsu Munemitsu & the Revision of the Unequal Treaties. p. 244.
  • Ringmar, Erik (2013). Liberal Barbarism: The European Destruction of the Palace of the Emperor of China. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Wang, Dong (2003). "The Discourse of Unequal Treaties in Modern China". Pacific Affairs. 76 (3): 399–425.
  • Wang, Dong. (2005). China's Unequal Treaties: Narrating National History. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. ISBN 9780739112083.
  • Fravel, M. Taylor (2008). Strong Borders, Secure Nation: Cooperation and Conflict in China's Territorial Disputes. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-2887-6

Primary sources
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