Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.1, 2019

 

Mixed Claims and Negotiation between Chinese and American Merchants in the Shanghai Mixed Court in the Late Qing and Early Republic(Abstract)

 

Cai Xiaorong

 

In the mixed claims involving Chinese and American merchants in the concessions from 1909 to 1913, disputes were mainly over commercial transactions, but also included new areas such as trademarks, land and real estate, mortgages and guarantees, building contracts and personality rights. The negotiation between the American Consulate and the Mixed Court over litigation reflects many details of the American assessor’s control of the court in cases involving American merchants. At the same time, through legal proceedings and dispute resolutions, some Chinese and American parties to the disputes and foreign lawyers strove to maximize their own interests through negotiation. In the late Qing and early Republic, legal cases involving Chinese and foreigners in the Mixed Court were nominally lawsuits but actually negotiations.