United States Secretary of State John Hay had issued the "Open Door Notes" of September–November 1899, followed by a diplomatic circular in July 1900, asking that all of the major world powers with vested interests in
Qing-dynasty China declare formally that they would maintain an "open door" to allow all nations equal rights and equal access to the
treaty ports within their
spheres of influence in China. Fearing that the powers of
Europe and that
Empire of Japan were preparing to carve China up into colonies, Hay also added provisions that Chinese territorial and administrative integrity should be maintained. Although no nation specifically affirmed Hay’s proposal, Hay announced that each of the powers had granted consent in principle, and treaties made after 1900 make reference to the
Open Door Policy. Nonetheless, competition between the various powers for
special concessions within China, including
railroad rights,
mining rights,
loans,
treaty ports open to foreign trade, and
extraterritorial privileges continued unabated. The United States was leery of Japanese designs on China, especially after the
Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) and the
Twenty-One Demands (1915), and repeatedly signed agreements with the Japanese government pledging to maintain a policy of equality in
Manchuria and the rest of
Mainland China. Those agreements concluded with
Lansing–Ishii Agreement in 1917, which was soon shown to be completely ineffective. ==Washington Naval Conference==