China during World War I

China participated in World War I from 1917 to 1918 in an alliance with the Entente Powers. Although China never sent troops overseas, 140,000 Chinese labourers (as a part of the British Army, the Chinese Labour Corps) served for both British and French forces before the end of the war.^[1] While neutral since 1914, Tuan Ch'i-jui, Premier of the Republic of China, spearheaded Chinese involvement in World War I. Tuan wanted to integrate China with Europe and the United States by declaring on the side of the Allies against the Central Powers.^[2] On 14 August 1917, China ended its neutrality, declaring war on the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.^[3]

^ Guoqi Xu. Strangers on the Western Front: Chinese Workers in the Great War. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2011. ISBN 9780674049994), pp. 1-9, and passim.
^ Spence, Jonathan D. (1990). The Search for Modern China. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-02708-2.
^ Gray, Jack (2002). Rebellions and Revolutions: China from the 1800s to 2000. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 168–169. ISBN 978-0-19-870069-2.