Treaty port is the
name given to Chinese seaports that were open to trade with certain foreign
countries beginning in the mid-1800's. The cities were called treaty ports
because the foreign trade there was carried on under treaty agreements. Such
agreements were a way of gaining trading rights in China.
In 1842, China
entered into a treaty-port agreement with Britain, opening five Chinese ports to
British trade. The ports were Guangzhou (Canton), Xiamen (Amoy), Fuzhou
(Fu-chou), Ningbo (Ningpo), and Shanghai. Later, China signed treaty-port
agreements with the United States and many other countries. By 1894, there were
over 60 treaty ports in China. Most of the agreements were forced on China by
foreign pressure or wars.
In 1912, China began to object to treaty-port
agreements. Britain and the United States gave up their special rights in China
in 1943. Today, China no longer has treaty ports.
______________ Contributor: • Robert M. Stern, Ph.D., Professor of Economics and Public Policy,
University of Michigan.
How to cite this
article: To cite this article in a footnote, World
Book recommends the following format:
Robert M. Stern, "Treaty
port," World Book Online Americas Edition,
