BRITISH POLICY AGAINST THE BACKDROP OF RUSSIAN PENETRATION INTO CHINA AT THE END OF THE 19TH – BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURIES

Petrosova Tatiana Gennadievna

The article examines Great Britain's policy towards China in the 19th century. XX centuries in connection with the active penetration of Russia into this territory. The rivalry between Great Britain and Russia is intensifying against the backdrop of the desire of Germany, France, the United States and Japan to strengthen their positions in the Far Eastern region. Great Britain considered China a special sphere of its economic interests, since trade turnover with it amounted to more than 35 million pounds sterling per year. Issues of British foreign policy towards China received a lot of attention in the press, since this area was considered one of the priorities in British society. Russia, in turn, sought to compensate for its losses after the defeat in the Crimean War by strengthening its position in the Far East, including by intensifying its foreign policy towards China. Western powers, penetrating into the Far East, did not consider that, in pursuit of expansionist goals, they were encroaching on the sovereign development of East Asian countries, using, among other things, missionary activities. Great Britain and France, in particular, justified their colonial policy by the desire to conduct educational activities in the dissemination of liberal ideas, as well as by promoting the issue of free trade in the Far East. The Chinese Empire, weakened after an unsuccessful war with Japan, could not resist the penetration of European powers and Russia into its territory. It was during this period that British-Russian contradictions reached their peak, as they almost led to an open armed conflict, which was avoided thanks to diplomatic efforts.

Keywords:China, British-Russian contradictions, missionary activity, colonial expansion, public opinion, diplomacy, strategy, spheres of influence, trade relations, Far East.