Sino-British negotiations and the search for a Post-War settlement, 1942-1949: treaties, Hong Kong, and Tibet
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Date
29/11/2019Item status
Restricted AccessEmbargo end date
29/11/2020Author
Wang, Zhaodong
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Abstract
Despite the vast research by scholars on international history during the era of the
Pacific War, comparatively little has been written about the bi-lateral relationship
between the Chinese Nationalist government and the British government and their
discussions during 1942-1949 over a post-war settlement in Asia. These were
dominated by two underlying themes: the elimination of the British imperialist
position in China and the establishment of an equal and reciprocal bilateral relationship.
In particular, these discussions focused on three matters: treaties (the 1943 Sino-British
treaty and the discarded Sino-British commercial treaty); the future of Hong Kong;
and the political status of Tibet. Drawing on archival sources in Britain, the United
States and China, the thesis demonstrates that negotiations over a post-war Sino-
British settlement had an encouraging start in 1942-43 but by 1949 had failed to reach
a satisfactory settlement. Not only did they fail to rebuild the two countries’
commercial relations on an equal and reciprocal basis (as in the aborted commercial
treaty) but they also did not terminate the informal British empire in China (with regard
to Hong Kong and Tibet). The reasons for the failure were complex, encompassing
both internal and external factors, including the powerful influence of the United States.