| The 1895-1905 is a decade of special significance in the history of international relations,in which the Far East has occupied the central position of world international relations and has become the focus of the great powers,especially the most important members of the two opposing groups in the First World War,Britain and Germany,their relationship has been shaped by the development of the Far East in this period,leaving behind the indirect cooperation of the past 20 years and completely parted ways,and the events in the Far East in the four years of 1897-1901 have had a decisive impact on the direction of bilateral relations in this ten years.Britain’s long-maintained peace situation in the Far East was broken by the Sino-Japanese War,and the weak Chinese empire became the object of encroachment by the great powers.This change in the Far East,especially the Anglo-Russian contradiction aroused by Russia’s advance in China since 1897,has created an opportunity for Germany to disrupt the relations between the powers and to escape the geopolitical deadlock in Europe.It is precisely because of the disturbances in the Far East that the objective factors that have prompted some British politicians to be subjectively reluctant but have to start seeking temporary regional cooperation to ease the local pressure on Britain as a global empire,paradoxically,Britain’s first partner to consider is the beneficiaries of the disturbance-Germany.However,cooperation and even alliances are not impossible,the key is to be able to give a reasonable quotation on the basis of the correct strategic cognition,which brings the structural constraint to the diplomatic interaction between the two countries.Thus,in the four years of 1897-1901,Germany took advantage of Britain’s strategic needs,received British recognition to turn Shandong into its own sphere of influence,shared the interests of the Tientsin-Chinkiang railway with the United Kingdom and won the priority of the railway concession to the north of the Yellow River,and finally realized the opening of the Yangtze River to Germany,which gained great benefits in a short time as a successor in the Far East,and all of this was based on Britain’s diminished interest in China,which was based on Germany’s desire to help Britain to contain Russia in the Far East;but Germany believed that Britain wanted Germany to help contain Russia,and it must go further,it was only enough to join the Triple Alliance;Britain believed that the strategic deadlock in Europe has made it necessary for Germany to win Britain’s friendship,and that Britain has made substantial concessions to Germany in the Far East,freeing enough goodwill for Germany to recognize its situation.Each of them thinks that the other side needs more of themselves,wants the other party to offer higher quotations,undertakes more obligations while both side hopes to maintain freedom of action,which leads the two countries in to the Prisoner’s Dilemma,with frequent diplomatic interaction,has always been greeted with greater disappointment after greater hope,and the relationship between the two countries has not only failed to make significant progress but has tended to regress.Germany is unmoved by the illusion of a resumption of rebuilding friendly relations between Germany and Russia to get out of the predicament,while Britain with more steps of policy adjustment directly triggered the big reshuffle of European diplomacy.In the end,the situation in the Far East,under the diplomatic manipulation of Britain and Germany,like the butterfly effect,caused a great shock in Europe,a devastating world war,and both countries paid a heavy price.The introduction of this paper introduces the significance of the topic,the research trends related to the topic,and the research materials and methods of this paper.This paper begins with the 1897-1898-year Far East crisis as a clue,the expansion of the Russian sphere of influence advanced in China,stimulated by German behavior,so that Britain,after being bogged down in diplomatic difficulties,has to turn to the hands of crisis but is the only Power that can exert influence on Russia,Germany,but the timing is not ripe,Britain can only maintain a strategic balance by the lease of Weihaiwei,but relations between Britain and Germany began to warm up after the indifference caused by the "Kruger Telegraph incident".Next,the paper focuses on the frequent diplomatic interactions between Britain and Germany over the past 1898-1900 years on the issue of Chinese railway concessions contest,the division of spheres of influence,and a series of problems caused by the boxer incident,which culminated in the political achievement of the British-German agreement.Then,because of Russia’s further expansion in China,the Anglo-German agreement began to withstand the test of external pressure,the relations between the two countries became complicated,and finally because Germany could not accept the British demand for both sides to curb Russia’s ambitions in Manchuria,Anglo-German relationship fails to bear pressure,the relationship between the two power became cool.Finally,this paper analyzes the fundamental factors hindering the progress of Anglo-German relations,introduces the"Prisoner’s Dilemma" model in the game theory,explains the structural constraints of Anglo-German relations and reveals the internal reasons for the inability of bilateral relations to progress. |
