The Russian-Chinese Convention of 1898 was signed on March 15 (27), 1898 in Beijing by Russian charge d'affaires A. Pavlov and a member of the imperial Secretariat and the Board of Foreign Affairs of the government of the Qing empire Li Hongzhang .
| Russian-Chinese Convention | |
|---|---|
| date of signing | March 15 (27), 1898 |
| • a place | Beijing |
| Have signed | Alexander Ivanovich Pavlov Li Hongzhang |
| Parties | Russian empire Qing Empire |
It provided for the leasing of Port Arthur ( Lüshun ) and Dalny (Dalian) to Russia and authorized the construction of a railroad to these ports ( South Manchurian Railway ) from one of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) points.
History
At the end of 1897, the struggle of world powers for spheres of influence and concession in the Qing Empire intensified. In November 1897, the territory of Jiao-Zhou was seized by Germany , after which the Qing government turned to Russia for help. The government of the Russian Empire determined the provision of assistance only if Russian interests were satisfied in Manchuria, including the construction of a railway line.
After Britain established its sphere of influence in the Yangtze region and concluded the Anglo-Chinese loan agreement on March 1, 1898, Russian-Chinese negotiations began in Beijing on March 3, 1898, the result of which was the signing of the Russian-Chinese Convention.
Contents
According to Articles I, II, and III of this convention, Russia received Lüshun and Dalian for 25 years in full and exclusive rental use with the adjacent water and territorial space while preserving and not violating the sovereign rights of the Qing Empire to this territory.
According to articles IV and V of this convention, in the leased territories the military and top civilian leadership was transferred to the Russian authorities. To the north of the leased area, a neutral zone was established with preservation of the Qing administration and admission of Chinese troops to this zone as agreed with the Russian authorities.
According to Article VI of the Convention, Lüshun, as a purely military port of Russia and Qing, was declared closed to the courts of all other powers. All Dalian bays, except for one, which was intended only for Russia and Qing, were declared free for access by merchant ships of all countries.
The Convention also gave the right to the CERCW Society to build a railway line from one of the CER to stations in Dalian, and, if necessary, to another point between the Yingze River City and the Yalu River .
On May 7, 1898, an additional protocol was signed to this convention, according to which the government of the Qing empire undertook not to cede a section of the neutral zone to foreigners without Russia's consent, not to open any of the ports along the eastern and western seaboards of this zone for trade, not to provide foreigners with railways , mining and industrial concessions in the neutral zone.
On the territory obtained by Russia, Kwantung Oblast was formed.
The Russian-Chinese convention has ceased to operate in connection with the signing of the Portsmouth peace treaty of 1905 .
Links
- Russian-Chinese Convention of March 15 (27), 1898