Relations Between The United States And China

Western imperialism in China was very significant, costed the lives of millions of people, but also helped shape China into a much stronger country than it was before, being ruled by the Qing Dynasty. Imperialism is a country extending its power and influence through the use of military force. There were two wars between the imperialists and China, the first and second Opium wars. The result of these wars was the weakening of the Qing Dynasty and led to a time of rebuilding, which was a great struggle, for China. The Europeans wanted to trade with China because of the great opportunity that they saw in the market. China’s population, which was 430 million, was seen as a fast and easy way for the Europeans to make a lot of money. The

Imperialism was a policy that dominated the world from the 16th century to the early 19th century. In 1899 China was under the threat of being conquered by Japan, Russia, France, Germany, and Great Britain. All these countries had spheres of influence over large parts of China, and the United States was worried they might miss out on trade relations with the Chinese. This led to the United States of America creating the Open Door Policy. The Open Door Policy proposed to keep China open to trade with all countries on an equal basis, to keep any one power from total control of the country, and calling upon all powers, within their spheres of influence, to refrain from interfering with any treaty port or any vested interest, to permit Chinese

Before the arrival of western powers, China was very stable, agricultural, and ethnocentric. They had many factories that produced silk, cotton, and porcelain with their natural resources: salt, tin, silver, and iron mines. They had no interest of trade or interaction with foreigners. From the early eighteenth century, European and American Imperialism spread throughout China with a goal to extend their nation’s power. China was one of many territories that undertook the changes of New Imperialism. By 1912, the country was governed by outside nations: Great Britain (mostly), Russia, Germany, France, and Japan. Their influence on China resulted malignantly on the country’s economy, political ties, and lifestyle; in spite of the few

For the last twenty eight years, China has been quickly growing into one of the largest economies in the world. China has accomplished this feat, in part, by radically changing their policies on trade and free market interactions with other countries. During this process, China has bought approximately one hundred trillion dollars of United States debt in the form of Treasury bills, notes, bonds, and Inflation Protected Securities (Amadeo). This debt has given China leverage against the United States which has enabled China to keep the value of the United States dollar high, while keeping the value of the Chinese yuan low. As the inflation of the dollar continues to negatively affect the

The part of the world where the Philippines lies was one of the most volatile and dangerous in the world. That being said, it also had some of the most profitable trade routes, richest resources and was a vital part of the world to have a stronghold. By following through with the annexation of the Philippines, the Americans were able to gain a stronghold on the other side of the world, enrich themselves by gaining access to the valuable resources that were so plentiful and to take the time to help spread freedom and democracy. William McKinley clearly believed and stated that “ we could not turn them over to France and Germany – our commercial rivals in the Orient – that would be bad business and discreditable.”

America’s interest with China’s market grew and they became more aggressive to secure their presence in Asia, which almost brought them to war with Germany. In the 1890’s China was split into portions of influence by the European nations so Secretary of State John Hay recommended the Open Door Policy, which promised access to trade to all major powers in China instead of splitting China into portions.

1899 marked the year when America set its sites from the Spanish to the First Philippine Republic plunging American into yet another war ending with the temporary annexation of the Philippine Islands spreading American imperialism to the Far East. Within one year of winning their independence from

Through the last quarter of the nineteenth century the United States foreign policy set out to gain overseas power in an attempt to obtain the status of a global superpower capable of controlling international trade. The United States attempted to reach that status through military force, international trade and the obtainment of land. An example of this attempt to gain the global superpower status was the Spanish-American War, which was fought from April 1898 to August 1898. The United States achieved victory in this war and gained the ability to control the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico. After this victory the United States was able to set its sights on gaining control in the Asian region of the world, which would have been a huge success and a game changer for the American region.

“Our largest trade henceforth must be with Asia. The Pacific is our ocean and the Pacific is the ocean of the commerce of the future the power that rules the Pacific, therefore, is the power that rules the world. And, with the Philippines, that power is and will forever be the American Republic” (Doc E). The Roosevelt Corollary, the most important departure from past United States expansionism, made the acquisition of such territories not only possible but socially acceptable. Under Teddy Roosevelt, the people of the United States were all for expansion. He had the ability to incite the American public and rally its force behind him. After all, who can stand against the people of the United States of America when they are truly united? Our country had progressed in its departures tracing all the way back to 1885 when, as Thomas Nast depicts, the United States was nowhere to be found in the game of “World Plundering” (Doc A). After the acquisition of a naval power, the United States could withstand the competition involved in economic world dominance. As shown in the cartoon of “American Diplomacy” in 1900, Uncle Sam is standing at the forefront of Chinas “open door” holding the key which represents said American Diplomacy. (Doc G) However, with positives always come negatives. Prejudice against immigrants and no chance of citizenship for our newly acquired lands were a few of the drawbacks of over expansion. There simply was not enough room for all the

According to document number ten the US spread economic ideas by introducing the Open Door Policy to establish order throughout China. According to the textbook American travelers had been traveling to China since 1784. Hawaii was a convenient stop on the way to China for fuel and other supplies. In 1844 the US gained trading privileges with China. The

During an imperialistic era, America looked to expand its horizons and create more trading opportunities with China. China was a booming resource of trade that every nation wanted a hand in. Thus, the Open Door Policy stated that each nation would have an equal part of China while it would still remain sovereign. It tried to protect China from any nation trying to become too powerful, but in actuality, it had no legal basis. America’s constant interest with foreign nations was a huge departure from its original isolationist exchange

China experiences the pressure of the imperialist’s military which China did not have the knowledge or the experience to match. China went from a superior leader, self-sufficient country, that thought that everyone else were barbarians to a torn country. China accepted foreign trade, but they wanted to control and limit how much and with who the trade was used for, they felt that they European trade was unnecessary. They did not allow the western merchants to have any power or privileges and restricted them to Canton, plus they refused to open their trade system beyond Co-Hong which caused china to not become as prosperous as Japan. (Valentini 2013) Because China the believed that they were the center of civilization and that the Western culture was inferior the Chinese government refused to go along with any of the European’s request and the two nations became hostile towards

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Cold War was over, making the U.S. the only superpower left in the world. This has made the international system much more tranquil, and relaxed. The only country potentially powerful besides the U.S., is China. Many Americans fear China, not only because they are communist, but also because of their huge population. Their population is 1.3 billion people, which accounts 1/5th of the world’s population. As one of the only potential superpowers in the world, it would be in the best interest of all Americans if the U.S. and China became allies, instead of enemies. Peace and development, economic prosperity and social progress, are goals that both of

The United States had been increasingly interested in China’s economic status, yet the U.S. just had gained the Philippines, Guam, and Hawaii as a result of the Spanish-

country, and Japan had taken over parts of China. The United States of America was stuck in the