France took Kwang-chau, still farther to the south, and Italy received Sanmen, somewhat to the south of the Yangtszekiang.

From these ports each power hoped to extend a sphere of influence.

It was axiomatic that such a sphere would be most rapidly developed and most solidly held if special tariff regulations were devised to throw the trade into the hands of the merchants of the nation holding the port.

The next step, therefore, in establishing the solidity of an Asiatic base, would be the formulation of special tariffs.

The result would be the practical division of China into districts having different and opposed commercial interests.
The United States did not arrive in this energetic company as an entire stranger.