Treaty of Wanghia

United States-China [1844]

Also known as: Treaty of Wangxia

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July 23, 2026

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The Treaty of Wanghia, signed in 1844, was one of the unequal treaties between China and foreign imperialist powers, including the United States. These treaties, largely stemming from the first Opium War, forced China to cede territorial and sovereignty rights.12

Under the Treaty of Wanghia, the United States gained rights similar to those granted to Britain by the Treaty of Nanjing and the British Supplementary Treaty of the Bogue. These included extraterritorial rights, meaning U.S. citizens in China were subject to American law and consuls, not Chinese law. This treaty, along with others like the Treaty of Whampoa with France, expanded foreign legal, judicial, police, and taxation systems within China's treaty ports.1

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unequal treaty
…most important treaties were the Treaty of Wanghia (Wangxia) with the United States and the Treaty of Whampoa with France (both 1844). Each additional treaty expanded upon the rights of extraterritoriality, and, as a result, the foreigners obtained an independent legal, judicial, police, and taxation system within the treaty ports.
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…most important treaties were the Treaty of Wanghia (Wangxia) with the United States and the Treaty of Whampoa with France (both 1844). Each additional treaty expanded upon the rights of extraterritoriality, and, as a result, the foreigners obtained an independent legal, judicial, police, and taxation system within the treaty ports.
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Caleb Cushing
There he negotiated the Treaty of Wanghia (1844) establishing the principle of extraterritoriality. In 1852 he became an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. President Franklin Pierce named him U.S. attorney general in 1853. Although he was chairman of the Democratic national convention at Charleston, S.C. (1860),…
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There he negotiated the Treaty of Wanghia (1844) establishing the principle of extraterritoriality. In 1852 he became an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. President Franklin Pierce named him U.S. attorney general in 1853. Although he was chairman of the Democratic national convention at Charleston, S.C. (1860),…
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China
The first Opium War and its aftermath
…July 1844 China signed the Treaty of Wanghia (Wangxia) with the United States and in October the Treaty of Whampoa (Huangpu) with France. These arrangements made up a complex of foreign privileges by virtue of the most-favored-nation clauses (guaranteeing trading equality) conceded to every signatory. All in all, they provided…
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…July 1844 China signed the Treaty of Wanghia (Wangxia) with the United States and in October the Treaty of Whampoa (Huangpu) with France. These arrangements made up a complex of foreign privileges by virtue of the most-favored-nation clauses (guaranteeing trading equality) conceded to every signatory. All in all, they provided…
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