The New Government in Nanking

Abstract

On 8 October 1928, the Nationalist government of united China was established and Nanking was chosen as its capital. The United States recognized the Nanking government on 3 November 1928; Britain on 10 December 1928. However, it was as late as 3 June 1929 that Japan recognized the government. This delay was caused by their failure to reach agreements over the Nanking, Hank’ou and Tsinan Incidents. This chapter examines how Japan and Britain coped with the changes brought about by the unification of China and the establishment of the Nanking government. The period which will be considered is from October 1928 to June 1931, and this is divided into two parts. The first covers from October 1928 to August 1929, and the second from September 1929 to June 1931. In the first part, the anti-Japanese movement which started after the Tsinan Incident became even more intense, while in the second part the anti-imperialist initiative calmed down. However, because of the Great Depression that began in September 1929, both Japan and Britain found it difficult to expand their trade with China.