Li–Lobanov Treaty

The Li–Lobanov Treaty or the Sino–Russian Secret Treaty (Chinese: 中俄密约 Russian: Союзный договор между Российской империей и Китаем ) was a secret and unequal treaty signed on June 3, 1896 in Moscow by foreign minister Alexey Lobanov-Rostovsky on behalf of the Russian Empire and viceroy Li Hongzhang on behalf of Qing China. The contents of the agreement were made public only in 1922.

Background

Following the Treaty of Shimonoseki ending the First Sino-Japanese War and the Triple Intervention, China was forced to pay a large indemnity to the Empire of Japan. In order to raise the funds for this payment, China approached France and Russia for loans. Taking advantage of this situation, Russian finance minister Sergey Witte established the Russo-Chinese Bank, which was controlled by the Russian government, and agreed to facilitate the loans.[1]

Contents

Meeting with Li Hongzhang in Moscow during the coronation ceremonies for Tsar Nicholas II, Witte promised to maintain Chinese territorial integrity and suggested a secret military alliance against possible future aggression by the Empire of Japan. In exchange, Russia would be allowed to increase its presence in Manchuria and to construct a railway (the China Eastern Railway) across Manchuria to connect the railhead of the Trans-Siberian Railway with the Pacific coast, thus eliminating the need for a 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) section of track along the Amur River. Along with the railway concession, Russian personnel and police received extraterritorial jurisdiction, administrative control over large portions of Northeast China and the permission to station troops to protect the railway.[1] China was also not allowed to interfere with Russian troop movements or munitions and also had to grant Russia decreased tariff rates. To avoid diplomatic issues with the other major powers, Li insisted that the concession be granted to the Russo-Chinese Bank, rather than directly to the Russian government,[1] making the railway nominally a joint project, although it was in reality completely financed and controlled by Russia.

Consequences

The terms of the treaty were tantamount to the annexation of Manchuria by Russia in all but name.[1] Rather than protecting China from Japanese territorial ambitions, the treaty opened the door towards further Russian expansionism in the form of the Russia–Qing Convention of 1898, in which China was forced to lease the southern tip of the Liaotung Peninsula to Russia and allow a railway line (the South Manchurian Railway) to be built connecting it to the China Eastern Railway. These events increased anti-foreign sentiment in China, which came to a head in the Boxer rebellion of 1900.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Kowner, Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War, p. 209-210