THE IMPACT OF RUSSIA AND JAPAN ON CHINA (1900-1950)
Russian influences significantly affected the course of
Chinese history during the first half of the twentieth
century, especially in the period prior to the Russo-Japanese
War, 1904-1905, during the mid 1920's, and certain pivotal
junctures after 1944; however, their effects on China pale
by comparison with the devastating impact on China of Japan's
emergence as the dominant economic and military power in East
Asia and its massive intervention in China before 1945.
Russian and Japanese Rivalry in China (1900-1919)
At the turn of the century, China and the inept Manchu
regime lay prostrate before the imperial ambitions and
depredations of Russia and Japan. Between 1900 and 1904,
Russia seized control of the 1300 mile Chinese Eastern Railway,
a key link with the Trans-Siberian Railway, fortified Southern
Manchurian ports and exerted pressure on Korea. Chubb said
that "by armed force, Russia had displaced the Manchu
governmental structure in Manchuria" (1971, p. 129).
Russia's southern expansion threatened Japan's dominant
position in Korea and its interests and aspirations in
Manchuria, Japan's main source of iron and coal and a potential
outlet for its rapidly increasing population. After securing its
flank by entering into the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of 1902, Japan
launched a surprise attack at Port Arthur and inflicted a
humiliating series of defeats on Russia.
Between 1907 and 1913, Japan and Russia carved up Manchuria
and Mongolia into separate spheres of influence. Between 1902
and 1912, Japanese investment in China, including Manchuria, rose
from one tenth of one percent to 13.6 percent of total foreign
investments in China while Russia's share fell from 31.3 percent
to 16.7 percent (Spence, 1990, p. 382). Russian influence in
China diminished further during ...