ABSTRACT
The Treaty of Wang-hsia, the first treaty between the United States and China, was signed July 3, 1844 by Caleb Cushing for the United States and Ch'i-ying for China. The opening of China in 1844 was hailed as the discovery of a new continent, ready peopled with two million people clamoring for American goods. The period presents a constant struggle on the part of American traders to find an outward cargo which would be marketable in China. The introduction of tobacco was, however, a slow and speculative process, and never succeeded until modern high-powered salesmanship and advertising were employed in China. The principal effort on the part of the American traders, particularly those trading out of New England, was to introduce both raw cotton and cotton piece goods into China. The opening of China to foreign trade appears to have been a great boon to the opium trade which had been steadily increasing since 1830.
