This dissertation is intended to interpret the development and influence of American-German bilateral relations in China from 1894 to 1901.
The first chapter of the dissertation illustrates the author’s research motives and then introduces research methods and some theories borrowed from social sciences after a survey of research materials; the second chapter looks back at the early political relationship between the United States and Prussia-Germany and explains their commercial competition and the Samoa question; the third chapter surveys the two states’ early relations with China, respectively, and the causes for their expansion eastwards in the late 19th century, and treats the developmental history of American-German relations in China; after a broader survey of the two states’ development in Japan and Korea, respectively, the fourth chapter analyzes the functions and interaction of the two states in the first Sino-Japanese war; the fifth chapter explains the expansion of the German mission and the Kiao-chou Incident and then deals with how America responded, namely, the Spanish-American War and the first Open Door note; the sixth chapter explores the positions taken by the two states towards the supreme commandership of the allied forces, the Japanese relief forces, the second Open Door note and the Anglo-German Agreement, during the Boxer Rebellion, and finally focuses on the two states’ disagreement over the indemnity issue; the seventh chapter is the concluding part based on the viewpoints from the previous chapters.
