Li–Lobanov Treaty
TheLi–Lobanov Treatyor theSino-Russian Secret Treaty(Chinese:Trung nga mật ước;Russian:Союзный договор между Российской империей и Китаем) was asecretandunequal treatysigned on June 3, 1896 inMoscowby foreign ministerAlexey Lobanov-Rostovskyon behalf of theRussian Empireand viceroyLi Hongzhangon behalf ofQing China.The treaty and its consequences increased anti-foreign sentiment in China, which came to a head in theBoxer Uprisingof 1900.
The contents of the agreement were made public only in 1922.
Background[edit]
Following theTreaty of Shimonosekiending theFirst Sino-Japanese Warand theTriple Intervention,China was forced to pay a largeindemnityto theEmpire of Japan(230 million kupingtaelsequal to 8,600tonnesofsilver). In order to raise the funds for this payment, China approachedFranceand Russia for loans. Taking advantage of this situation, Russian finance ministerSergei Witteestablished theRusso-Chinese Bank,which was controlled by the Russian government, and agreed to facilitate the loans.[1]
Contents[edit]
Meeting with Li Hongzhang in Moscow during the coronation ceremonies forTsar Nicholas II,Witte promised to maintain Chinese territorial integrity and suggested a secret military alliance against possible future aggression by theEmpire of Japan.In exchange, Russia would be allowed to use Chinese ports for its warships, and to build aRussian gaugerailway throughHeilongjiangandJilintoVladivostokon the Pacific coast.[2]Along with the railway concession, Russian personnel and police receivedextraterritorial jurisdictionover large portions ofNortheast Chinaand the permission to station troops to protect the railway.[1]China was also not allowed to interfere with Russian troop movements or munitions and also had to grant Russia decreased tariff rates. To avoid diplomatic issues with the othermajor powers,Li insisted that the concession be granted to the Russo-Chinese Bank, rather than directly to the Russian government,[1]making the railway nominally a joint project, although it was in reality completely financed and controlled by Russia.
Consequences[edit]
The terms of the treaty were tantamount to the annexation of northeast China by Russia in all but name.[1]Rather than protecting China from Japanese territorial ambitions, the treaty opened the door towards further Russian expansionism in the form of theRussia–Qing Convention of 1898,in which China was forced to lease the southern tip of theLiaodong Peninsulato Russia and allowa southern extensionof Russia'sChina Eastern Railwayto be built from northernHarbinto the port city ofDalian.[3] These events increased anti-foreign sentiment in China, which came to a head in theBoxer Uprisingof 1900.
See also[edit]
- Relations between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire(1855–1922)
- Unequal treaties
- Imperialism in Asia
Notes[edit]
- ^abcdKowner, Rotem(2006).Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War.The Scarecrow Press. pp. 209–210.ISBN0-8108-4927-5. Kowner,Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War,p. 209-210
- ^Nish, Ian (2014).The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War.Routledge. p. 31.
- ^Schumpeter, Elizabeth Boody (1940).The Industrialization of Japan and Manchukuo, 1930-1940.Vol. 8. Taylor & Francis. p. 382.
Further reading[edit]
- Cheng, Tianfang.A history of Sino-Russian relations(1957) pp 57-60.
- Kawakami, Kiyoshi Karl. "The Russo-Chinese Conflict in Manchuria."Foreign Affairs8.1 (1929): 52-68.
- Ukoianov, Igor V.L. "The First Russo-Chinese Allied Treaty of 1896."International Journal of Korean History11 (2007): 151-177abstract.