History

In 1899, right after the First Opium War, China was under the control of European powers and Japan, Qing Dynasty was so weak that hardly could defeat these powers. Each of these powers found out that China was a country which owned variety of resource. Therefore, all of them wanted to trade with China to earn more benefit and robbed various parts of coastal places, unfold Chinese territorial and Administrative integrity and would not interfere with the free use of the treaty ports within their spheres of inference in China. John Hay, the private secretary to Abraham Lincoln, the person who proposed the Open Door Policy. At that time, the United States was just finished the invasion of Philippine with Spanish and turned to China. They also had great interest in China and found out that China was the biggest market in the whole world. The Open Door Policy was declared base on this situation.
Hay said,“Earnestly desirous to remove any cause of irritation and to ensure at the same time to the commerce of all nations in China...shall enjoy perfect equality of treatment for their commerce and navigation within such spheres.” The purpose of writing the document was to reduce the power countries had gained from their spheres of influence. The United States had no spheres of influence in China because it had just recently taken interest in Asia. Therefore, John Hay sought to prevent other countries from having more power than the United States.
Each power claimed exclusive privileges of investment, and other powers seek to monopolize the trade as well. As the Open Door Policy took into action, each power should have to follow the rule
1. Each great power should maintain free access to a treaty port or to any other vested interest within its sphere.
2. Only the Chinese government should collect taxes on trade.
3. No great power having a sphere should be granted exemptions from paying harbor dues or railroad charges.
This policy which showed above has obviously