2025/12/22 by Taoyu Yang · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Chinese history and philosophy #Vietnamese History and Culture Studies #World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact
paper · doi:10.1080/03086534.2025.2575834
openalex publication_date 2025/12/22 · openalex created_date 2025/12/22 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
As a pivotal document in the history of Sino-British relations, the 1943 Sino-British Treaty not only abrogated Britain’s extraterritorial privileges but also included provisions on the management of existing British properties in China. While the creation of the 1943 treaty has garnered some scholarly attention, its actual implementation, particularly regarding the liquidation of British property in former treaty port cities, has not yet been thoroughly addressed in the English-language scholarship. By examining the historical process of the treaty’s implementation and the disputes over British property it generated through the lens of Tianjin, this article argues that the implementation of the Sino-British Treaty of 1943 was not a straightforward legal transition but rather a contested and negotiated process shaped by divergent interpretations and shifting geopolitical realities. It first argues that British and Chinese diplomats at various levels had significantly divergent interpretations and approaches to its implementation during the immediate postwar period. Despite their disputes, however, both parties shared the same strategy of utilising the ambiguous clauses of the 1943 Treaty to safeguard and advance their own interests. It also underscores how treaty-port-era practices continued to linger on in the minds of British and Chinese officials in the aftermath of WWII. A pivotal shift occurred in 1948, when British policy moved from from claims based on principle to pragmatic compromises. More broadly, this study reveals the underlying priorities, concerns, and interests of Britain and China, indicates the broader decline of British colonial and economic influence in East Asia after WWII, and highlights the complexities of transitioning from colonial relationships to more equal diplomatic engagements in Sino-British relations in the new post-WWII context.