Summary

China was confronted with the Western concept of international treaties under unfavourable historical conditions. In the 19th century, treaties were used as an instrument of the colonial powers to open China by force to engage in trade with other countries. For the Chinese, international treaties represented restrictions on state sovereignty and national humiliation. When international law textbooks were translated into Chinese and arguments based on international law were used by the Chinese Government in its international relations, international law was not understood as an end in itself, but rather, like military science and other useful technical skills, as an instrument for the purpose to ‘control foreigners’. Hence, the value of international law for the modernization of China was regarded as marginal.