treaty port

American  

noun

History/Historical.

1. any of the ports in China, Japan, or Korea through which trade with foreign countries was permitted by special treaty.

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treaty port British  

noun

1. (in China, Japan, and Korea during the second half of the 19th and first half of the 20th century) a city, esp a port, in which foreigners, esp Westerners, were allowed by treaty to conduct trade

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Etymology

Origin of treaty port

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

treaty port

Even before it was ceded as a British treaty port in 1842, the city formerly known as Amoy had always buzzed with trade.

From Time ● Jan. 24, 2017

At Shanghai, the greatest treaty port of China, where the trouble began, the situation was well in control and the city was said to resemble "an armed camp."

From Time Magazine Archive

Moreover, the Japanese cannot get needed foreign exchange from China with which to buy planes, oil and scrap iron so long as deals on China's coastal soil are cleared through western treaty port banks.

From Time Magazine Archive

Japan's victory-of-the-week over China was at the treaty port of Swatow, 180 miles north of Hong Kong.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the typical merchant of the treaty port, that is, the merchant whom one hears so loudly abusing the missionaries, does not speak the language.

From Drugging a Nation The Story of China and the Opium Curse by Merwin, Samuel