The principle that all nations should have equal access to any of the ports that are open to trade in China had been stipulated in the Anglo-Chinese treaties of Nanjing and Wangxia. Great Britain had the most interest in China than any other power and successfully kept the policy of the open door until in the late 19th century. After the first Sino-Japanese War, however, a scramble for “spheres of influence” in different parts of coastal China-mostly by Russia, France, Germany, and Great Britain-began. In each of these spheres the controlling major power claimed exclusive privileges of investment, it was feared that each would like to monopolize the trade. It was generally feared that the breakup of China to economic segments dominated by various great powers would lead to complete subjection and the separation of the country into colonies. …show more content…
A new interest in foreign markets had emerged following the economic depression of the 1890s. Also the United States had just gained the Philippines, Guam, and Hawaii at the end of the Spanish-American War and was becoming very interested in China, where American textile manufacturers had found markets for cheap cotton