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In Pursuit of Equality and Respect

This article examines the role of the League of Nations, particularly in the 1920s, in the foreign relations of the Republic of China (ROC). ROC diplomats targeted their activities in the League toward achieving two long-standing Chinese national aspirations: achieving formal legal equality with other states and thereby ending disadvantageous treaty relations, and gaining recognition for China’s self-assessed identity as a once and future great power. On the first issue, these figures wished the League to act indirectly on their country’s behalf, by supporting Chinese diplomatic activities in other venues and enhancing the authority of international legal regimes. On the second, they sought to have the League’s organizational structure directly reflect China’s self-perceived rightful status as an important nation. Examining their arguments helps to shed light on how these figures construed the nature of great power status, and on their sometimes contradictory views of equality and hierarchy among nations. It also illuminates mindsets that continued to shape Chinese attitudes toward international relations and international institutions in later years.