What did Secretary of State John Hay propose to protect American interests in China?

What did Secretary of State John Hay propose to protect American interests in China?

Hay proposed a free, open market and equal trading opportunity for merchants of all nationalities operating in China, based in part on the most favored nation clauses already established in the Treaties of Wangxia and Tianjin.

What role did John Hay play in increasing trade with China?

Hay is probably best remembered as the promoter of the Open Door policy, which was designed to counter the trend toward divisive spheres of influence in the Orient. In 1899 he sent diplomatic notes to six interested nations proposing equal trading rights in China for all nations.

What was the US policy of keeping trade open with China called?

the Open Door policy
What was the Open Door policy? The Open Door policy was a statement of principles initiated by the United States in 1899 and 1900. It called for protection of equal privileges for all countries trading with China and for the support of Chinese territorial and administrative integrity.

What did John Hay do as Secretary of State?

Hay served for almost seven years as Secretary of State, under President McKinley, and after McKinley’s assassination, under Theodore Roosevelt. Hay was responsible for negotiating the Open Door Policy, which kept China open to trade with all countries on an equal basis, with international powers.

Why was Hay’s open door policy so important?

Ironically, Hay articulated the Open Door policy at a time when the U.S. Government was doing everything in its power to close the door on Chinese immigration to the United States. This effectively stifled opportunities for Chinese merchants and workers in the United States.

What did Hay want to do with China?

Hay called for each of the powers active in China to do away with economic advantages for their own citizens within their spheres of influence, and also suggested that the Chinese tariffs apply universally and be collected by the Chinese themselves. Although the other powers may not have agreed fully with these ideas, none openly opposed them.

What was Hay’s message to foreign powers in 1900?

On July 3, 1900, Hay circulated another message to the foreign powers involved in China, this time noting the importance of respecting the “territorial and administrative integrity” of China.

Who was the Secretary of State in China in 1899?

Secretary of State John Hay and the Open Door in China, 1899–1900 Secretary of State John Hay first articulated the concept of the “Open Door” in China in a series of notes in 1899–1900. The idea behind the Open Door Notes originated with British and American China experts, Alfred E. Hippisley and William W. Rockhill.