Imperialism in China

Domination of China started with Opium Wars.

Opium Wars

• Before opium wars only two ports opened to foreign traders. 
• No market for British goods in China. 
• British merchants started smuggling Opium into China on large scale. Very profitable trade.
• Did immense physical and moral damage to Chinese. 
• In 1839, China seized opium cargo and destroyed it. 
• Britain declared war and defeated China. 
• China forced to pay heavy damages and open 5 port cities to British traders. 
• Chinese government agreed that future British subjects in these port cities would be tried for any crimes in English rather than Chinese courts. - Known as extraterritorial rights.
• Chinese government not free to impose tariff on foreign goods. 
• Hong Kong given to China. 

China-Japan War

• Japan tried to increase her influence over Korea.
• Korea under Chinese overlordship. China resented; two countries went to war in 1894.
• China got defeated. China gave Korea her independence, ceded Formosa and other islands to Japan.
• Forced to pay heavy war damages of 150 million USD. 
• France, Russia, Britain and Germany gave loans to China to meet this payment. 
• In lieu divided China into spheres of influence. Each country has certain regions of China reserved exclusively for its purpose. 
• Germany: Kiachow Bay + Shantung + Hwang Ho valley.
• Russia: Liatong Penisula + right to build railroads in Manchuria. 
• France: Kwangchow Bay + 3 southern provinces to China. 
• Britain: Wei-hi-Wei + Yangtze Valley.
• US feared that its trade with China would be shutoff suggested "Open door"/ "Me too" policy.
• Open door - all countries will have equal rights to trade anywhere in China. 
• Britain supported US to discourage annexation of China by Japan and Russia. 
• Scramble for privileges stopped in China after an uprising against the foreign power known as Boxer rebellion (1898-1900).
• Foreign powers were victorious and levied heavy damages on China as punishment. 
• China was not conquered and occupied by any imperialist country, but the effects of these developments were same as in areas which had been colonized. 
• Division of China into spheres of influence - "cutting of the Chinese melon"