Ailing Empires: The Morphine Issue in Sino-foreign Relations at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century

Summary This article explores morphine as an issue in the foreign relations between China and several colonial powers, notably Britain and the USA in the 1900s. The drug diplomacy on morphine in Sino-foreign relations during this period is mainly reflected in three events: the revisions of relevant commercial treaties in 1902–4, the negotiations about morphine import control in 1906–8, and related discussions at the Shanghai Opium Commission of 1909. A mixture of cooperation and competition marked the positions of the participating empires on morphine. The serpentine process of drug diplomacy on the morphine issue in the 1900s indicates the struggle of the Chinese authorities to assert themselves under the hegemony of the colonial powers. It also reflected the changing power balance and the ailing features of the empires at the dawn of the twentieth century.