Sino-British Negotiations and the Search for a Post-War Settlement, 1942-1949

The book is a systematic study of the China-Britain relationship during the 1942-1949 period with a particular focus on the two countries discussions over both the 1943 Sino-British treaty and the discarded Sino-British commercial treaty, the future of Hong Kong, and the political status of Tibet. These were dominated by two underlying themes: the elimination of the British imperialist position in China and the establishment of an equal and reciprocal bilateral relationship. The negotiations started promisingly in 1942-1943, but, by 1949, had failed to reach a satisfactory settlement. Behind the failure lay a complex set of domestic considerations and external factors, including the powerful infl uence of the United States. Even after seven decades, the failure still has a contemporary impact. Recent Sino-British disputes over the Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement and incessant Indo-Chinese confl icts and skirmishes over their unsettled borders all attest to the enduring legacy of the years 1942-1949 as setting the scene for subsequent Sino-British and Sino-Indian relations. From this perspective, the history has never left us.

Zhaodong Wang, Lecturer at School of International Studies, Renmin University of China.