Open Door Policy Essay

China is a country with a dense population and a host of natural resources. Natural resources that many European countries, including the Soviet Union, wanted access to. In order to reduce tension in Europe over China, the United States enacted the “open door policy (Benz).” The late 1800s and early 1900s is often referred to as the Age of Imperialism. During this time, many European countries were expanding their colonies to gain control and influence over more territory. China, who’s government was currently in a fragile state, was no exception to this. In fact, some countries had already secured spheres of influence within china. For example, Great Britain had full control of Hong Kong (Benz). This scramble over china is what prompted the United States to take action.
In 1899 the first attempt at an “open door policy” was made by President McKinley’s secretary of state John Hay, and became known as the “open door notes (Benz)” Hay wrote to several countries leaders proposing the “open door policy” that everyone has free trade with china and that no government gets special treatment (Benz). Leaving the Chinese
Likewise, China was very responsive in mending relations for the same reason. In order to establish good faith, communist leader Deng Xiaoping reopened the Chinese economy under the “open door policy (Cheng).” However, the improved relations between the United States and China, the two greatest threats to the Soviet Union, put Soviet leaders on edge. To ease their concerns, that same year in May, “Nixon made an equally significant trip to Moscow to support a nuclear arms agreement ("Triangular Diplomacy”).” During that visit Nixon and the USSR established the first STRATEGIC ARMS LIMITATION TREATY (SALT I). That limited the creation and number of intercontinental ballistic missiles for both the USSR and the United States ("Triangular