Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to decentralise and destabilise easy notion of a simple bilateral relationship. It contextualises the British role in the migration of Chinese to work or live overseas. The book reappraises Sino-British interactions in moments of conflict in the nineteenth century. It then, illustrates how Sino-British relations were shaped in moments of conflict in the twentieth century. The book explores the wider significance of Britain's recruitment and deployment of Chinese labourers during the First World War. It addresses the issue of foreign investment in China and its impacts on the growth of indigenous companies. The book considers the end of imperialist influence in China, following the power of the Chinese Communist Party. It demonstrates that the Shanghai Municipal Council administered the International Settlement as an independent state with its own policies of expansion and defence.