For decades, European countries assumed that China is a benign force in international relations.
colonialism
Brooks, Japan's Imperial Diplomacy: Consuls, Treaty Ports, and War in China 1895-1938, 2000
Charles Kolb reviews the book for H-Diplo.
Goodman, Social and Political Change in Revolutionary China: The Taihang Base Area in the War of Resistance to Japan, 1937-1945, 2000
Matthew Young reviews the book for H-Diplo.
Dryburgh, North China and Japanese Expansion 1933-1937: Regional Power and the National Interest, 2000
Bill Sewell reviews the book for H-Japan.
Lodwick, Educating the Women of Hainan: The Career of Margaret Moninger in China, 1915-1942, 1995
Shelton Woods reviews the book for H-Women.
U.S. Senator Albert J. Beveridge speaks on the Philippine Question, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., January 9, 1900
Senator Beveridge's speech on the Philippines reflects an era of American imperialism in the Pacific.
The White Man's Burden 1899
"The White Man's Burden" is a poem by the English poet Rudyard Kipling. It was originally published in the popular magazine McClure's in 1899. It was a response to the U.S. taking over the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. Although Kipling's poem mixed exhortation to empire with sober warnings of the costs involved, imperialists within the United States understood the phrase "white man's burden" as a characterization for imperialism that justified the policy as a noble enterprise.
John Hay to Andrew White, "First 'Open Door' Note, Sept. 6, 1899
Secretary John Hay wrote versions of this note to each of the major powers (Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, and Japan).
Treaty of Tianjin (Tien-tsin), 1858
Treaty between the United States of America and the Empire of China.
Hong Kong Governor Bonham to British Minister Lord Grey, 1849
Hong Kong Governor Bonham to British Minister Lord Grey, 1849, Regarding Chinese Participation in the Colonial Government
Treaty between Koxinga and the Dutch Government 1662
Signed at Castle Zeelandia 1 February 1662
Pages
Featured Articles
European views toward China are not uniform. Europeans recognize China's economic prowess and clearly favor continued ties, but majorities in much of Europe now have a negative view towards China.
Events
Tensions evident in the recent European Union-China virtual summit reflect the increasing skepticism in Europe toward China and the worries over Ukraine and economic ties as well as human rights and environmental issues.