My Opinion on The Treaty of Aigun

China signed the Treaty of Aigun with the Russian empire, giving them more than 200,000 square miles of land.  The Russian ships were allowed to travel through the Amur River, the Sungari River, and the Ussuri River. Russia wanted the power in the Pacific and developed a strong military post near the Amur River. They later threatened China to sign the Treaty of Aigun with war to accomplish their goal.  China agreed to sign the treaty!

If China had not sent a representative to sign the treaty, the Qing Dynasty would not have made it this far.  China would have collapsed.  The Russian military was strong and stable.  With the Taiping Rebellion warring China, the Qing empire was weakening.  The Qing military cannot handle the rebellions and to risk going to war with the Russian empire at the same time.  They had no way of winning.  A war with Russia would injured China and the people of Qing.  The Qing Dynasty had to make a choice.  If the Qing denied the treaty, they risk of losing their whole empire.  The Russia would do everything to get the land near the Amur River.  It was a step in succeeding for the power in the Pacific.

Even though the Russians threatened China with warfare, China can still gain somethings from the Russian empire. The Chinese ships was allowed to travel through the Amur River, the Sungari River, and the Ussari River. The people who lived around these rivers were allowed to trade with each other.  Instead of only allowing trades between those who lived near the rivers, the whole empire of China and Russia could trade with each other.  A special trading port could be set up.  Both China and Russia could benefit from the trading goods with each other. China could learn about the Russian cultures and traditions, and Russia could learn about the Chinese cultures and traditions.

Russian empire gained the land they wanted just by threatening the Qing.  They might use this threat again to gain more land from China.  Most people would agreed that China was giving Russia an advantage.  The Russia would craved for more land.  If China had not given the part of its land to Russia, worse things would have happened.  Accepting the treaty was the right choice.  China lost only one part of its land rather than losing their whole empire.  The Treaty of Aigun gave the Russian empire a part of China's land and a few privileges.  The treaty never hurt the people of China.