The Li–Lobanov Treaty or the Sino-Russian Secret Treaty (; russian: Союзный договор между Российской империей и Китаем ) was a

secret Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

and unequal treaty signed on June 3, 1896 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

by foreign minister Alexey Lobanov-Rostovsky on behalf of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

and viceroy

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; 15 February 1823 – 7 November 1901) was a Chinese politician, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in important ...

on behalf of Qing China. The treaty and its consequences increased anti-foreign sentiment in China, which came to a head in the Boxer Uprising of 1900. The contents of the agreement were made public only in 1922.

Background

Following the

Treaty of Shimonoseki The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China and in the period before and during World War II in Japan, was a treaty signed at the , Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China, ending the Firs ...

ending the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the ...

and the

Triple Intervention The Tripartite Intervention or was a diplomatic intervention by Russia, Germany, and France on 23 April 1895 over the harsh terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki imposed by Japan on the Qing dynasty of China that ended the First Sino-Japanese War. ...

, China was forced to pay a large

indemnity In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (the ''indemnitor'') to compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemni ...

to the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...

(230 million kuping

tael Tael (),"Tael" entry
at the ...

s equal to 8,600

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s of

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

). In order to raise the funds for this payment, China approached

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and Russia for loans. Taking advantage of this situation, Russian finance minister

Sergei Witte Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte (; ), also known as Sergius Witte, was a Russian statesman who served as the first prime minister of the Russian Empire, replacing the tsar as head of the government. Neither a liberal nor a conservative, he attract ...

established the

Russo-Chinese Bank The Russo-Chinese Bank (russian: Русско-Китайский банк, french: Banque russo-chinoise, Traditional Chinese: 華俄銀行) was a foreign bank, founded in 1895, that represented joint French and Russian interests in China during ...

, which was controlled by the Russian government, and agreed to facilitate the loans. Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 209-210

Meeting with Li Hongzhang in Moscow during the coronation ceremonies for

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

, Witte promised to maintain Chinese territorial integrity and suggested a secret military alliance against possible future aggression by the

. In exchange, Russia would be allowed to use Chinese ports for its warships, and to build a

Russian gauge Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: * Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...

railway through

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

and

Jilin Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea ( Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

on the Pacific coast. Along with the railway concession, Russian personnel and police received

extraterritorial jurisdiction Extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) is the legal ability of a government to exercise authority beyond its normal boundaries. Any authority can claim ETJ over any external territory they wish. However, for the claim to be effective in the externa ...

over large portions of

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

and the permission to station troops to protect the railway. 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 A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power in ...

, Li insisted that the concession be granted to the Russo-Chinese Bank, rather than directly to the Russian government, 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 northeast China by Russia in all but name. 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

Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong Peninsula (also Liaotung Peninsula, ) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located between the mouths of the Daliao River ...

to Russia and allow a southern extension of Russia's China Eastern Railway to be built from northern Harbin to the port city of Dalian. These events increased anti-foreign sentiment in China, which came to a head in the Boxer Uprising of 1900.

Background

Contents

Consequences

See also

Notes

Further reading