论英国对二战后中英商约的筹议

British Conceiving of the Commercial Treaty with China after the World War Ⅱ

二战后期,在美国启动商约准备工作的同时,英国亦开启了商约筹议,但英国的准备工作整体上比较消极,曾寄望于先由中方提出草案,然后在中方的基础上加以修改。随着美方的加速推进,英方亦改变了策略,开始准备商约草案。英方所准备的商约草案只涉及居留及航海事项,不包含经商条款。与中美商约相比,英方希望获得国民待遇而非最惠国待遇,以期得到远超中美商约的特殊优惠。至1946年底,在英方草案的基础上,中方提出了对案。随着解放战争的全面爆发,英方认为中国的国内环境不利于商约的执行,与其订立一个不能令人满意的条约,不如不订,中英商约最终未能签订。

In the late stage of World WarⅡ,the British government joined the ranks of the U.S.government to initiatecommercial treaty talks with China.Nevertheless,the British government was largely lukewarm about the talk at first.Itonce hoped that the Chinese side would first propose a draft treaty,based on which the British side could make furtherimprovement.With the U.S.government stepped up its commercial treaty talk with China,however,the British changedcourse and proactively prepared a draft treaty.The draft commercial treaty proposed by the British side only covered issuesrelated to residence and navigation,excluding business-related terms.Different from the terms of the Sino-U.S.Commercial Treaty,the British side hoped to get national treatment rather than the most-favored-nation treatment,a stancethat would enable the British to get more benefits than that were allowed under the Sino-U.S.Commercial Treaty.TheChinese side proposed adjustments of the draft treaty at the end of 1946.With the all-out outbreak of the Chinese CivilWar,the British side argued that the Chinese domestic situation would impede the implementation of the commercial treaty.It would rather jettison the commercial treaty than sign an unsatisfactory treaty.The Sino-U.K.Commercial Treaty wasultimately aborted.