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.
