At the end of the 1800s, why was the United States unable to expand trade with China?

By the late 1800s, several imperialist powers had established spheres of influence and special trading privileges in China. This limited the United States’ ability to expand its trade there, so the U.S. later promoted the Open Door Policy to seek equal access. Japan was one of the powers involved, but it did not control most of China by itself.

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