Japan and China History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Japan and China History - Essay Example While China has become aggressive by declaring war with Japan only to end up losing later, the latter has taken the strategy of ensuring the independence of Korea through the Treaty of Shimonoseki instead of radically annexing Korea. By this treaty, several ports in China have been opened for international trade. However, Western powers were active in China at that time, especially Russia, demanding the withdrawal of Japan from its claim over Liaodong (Duiker & Spielvogel 664). Yet instead of fighting for their claims like what China would have done, Japan ceded back their control and gave in with the demands of Russia. As a result, this strategy established diplomatic relations with Russia for a while allowing Japan to take over Korean affairs without intrusion from Russia. Japan also took advantage of this situation by collecting more war indemnity from China. The slow but sudden expansion of Japan has gradually caught the attention of other powerful Western nations such as the Uni ted States and Britain. The alliance formed with these Western powers has aided Japan to succeed in the Russo-Japanese war later in history.