The Sino-American Treaty of Wanghia (Traditional Chinese: 中美望廈條約; Simplified Chinese: 中美望厦条约; Pinyin: Zhōng-Měi Wàngxià tiáoyuē) is the first diplomatic agreement between China and the United States in history, signed on July 3, 1844. It was brought about by Caleb Cushing, a Massachusetts lawyer dispatched by President John Tyler under the pressures of American merchants concerned about the British dominance in chinese trade. Because America signed as a nation interested in trade instead of colonization, it was rewarded with extraordinary amount of trading power. Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiÇŽntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiÇŽnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音; Hanyu Pinyin: , lit. ... July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... 1844 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Caleb Cushing (January 17, 1800–January 2, 1879) was an American statesman and diplomat who served as a U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts and Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce. ... John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth (1841-1845) President of the United States. ...

See also

• Imperialism in Asia
• Unequal Treaties