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Russian traders and trappers began encroaching further upon Manchu and Chinese territory in the Amur River region in the 1660s, and the [[Kangxi Emperor]] (r. [[1661]]-[[1722]]) responded by establishing military colonies and driving the Russians away. These tensions were resolved to an extent by the [[1689]] [[Treaty of Nerchinsk]], negotiated via [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] translators, which permitted Russian traders to travel through the territory and all the way to Beijing, while forbidding Russian governmental intervention, settlement, or other more permanent activities in Manchuria.
Russian traders and trappers began encroaching further upon Manchu and Chinese territory in the Amur River region in the 1660s, and the [[Kangxi Emperor]] (r. [[1661]]-[[1722]]) responded by establishing military colonies and driving the Russians away. These tensions were resolved to an extent by the [[1689]] [[Treaty of Nerchinsk]], negotiated via [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] translators, which permitted Russian traders to travel through the territory and all the way to Beijing, while forbidding Russian governmental intervention, settlement, or other more permanent activities in Manchuria.
Following a series of successful conquests in which the Qing acquired millions of square miles of new territories in the west, the [[Treaty of Kiakhta]] in [[1727]] similarly arranged for border agreements and trade arrangements between China and Russia in this more western region, where the Qing vied not only with Russia, but also with Tibet and the western Mongols. Outer Mongolia fell to Qing forces in [[1697]], [[Zunghars|Zungharia]] (to the west of Mongolia) in [[1757]], and East Turkestan (incl. [[Uighur]] lands and the city of [[Kashgar]]) in [[1759]], with Tibet becoming a protectorate in [[1751]].<ref name=tignor502/> The Qing consolidated a number of these areas into a "new territory" (Xinjiang) in [[1768]]. Further border disputes between China and Russia over areas of Xinjiang would be addressed by a [[Treaty of St. Petersburg (1881)|Treaty of St. Petersburg]] in [[1881]]. Some of these lands had not been controlled by China since the [[Tang Dynasty]], while others had never previously come under Chinese control. Nevertheless, all of Xinjiang and Tibet (invaded in the 1720s) are today often claimed by Chinese as integral parts of historical/traditional China.
Following a series of successful conquests in which the Qing acquired millions of square miles of new territories in the west, the [[Treaty of Kiakhta]] in [[1727]] similarly arranged for border agreements and trade arrangements between China and Russia in this more western region, where the Qing vied not only with Russia, but also with Tibet and the western Mongols. Outer Mongolia fell to Qing forces in [[1697]], [[Zunghars|Zungharia]] (to the west of Mongolia) in [[1757]], and East Turkestan (incl. [[Uighur]] lands and the city of [[Kashgar]]) in [[1759]], with Tibet becoming a protectorate in [[1751]].<ref name=tignor502/> The Qing consolidated a number of these areas into a "new territory" (Xinjiang) in [[1768]]. Further border disputes between China and Russia over areas of Xinjiang would be addressed by a [[Treaty of St. Petersburg (1881)|Treaty of St. Petersburg]] in [[1881]]. Some of these lands had not been controlled by China since the [[Tang Dynasty]], while others had never previously come under Chinese control. Nevertheless, all of Xinjiang and Tibet (invaded in the 1720s) are today often claimed by Chinese as integral parts of historical/traditional China. The Qing administered these western territories loosely for a time, allowing local or native administrative structures to remain in place. Only in the late 19th century did the Court first decide to integrate these regions more fully into "China proper."
Under the Qianlong Emperor, the Qing Empire engaged in [[Ten Great Campaigns]], including intervention in a succession dispute in Vietnam in [[1789]]; this ended in the expulsion of Chinese (Manchu) military force & civil control from Vietnam. The Chinese would fight for Vietnam again in [[1884]], this time [[Sino-French War|against the French]]. Siam's final tribute mission to China took place in [[1853]].
The early encounters with Russia were to be just the beginning of broader and deeper interactions with Western powers. The [[1793]] British mission to the Court of the Qianlong Emperor led by [[George Lord Macartney]] is perhaps the most oft-discussed, but between the establishment of the Qing and the imposition of radical changes to their foreign relations following the [[Opium War]] in [[1842]], the Qing saw a total of 27 diplomatic missions from Western powers, including three from Britain, one from the United States, three from the Vatican, four from the Dutch, four from Portugal, and twelve from Russia.<ref>Erik Ringmar, "The Ritual/Performance Problem in Foreign Policy Analysis: European Diplomats at the Chinese Court," ''Rethinking Foreign Policy'' 101 (2012), 4.</ref>
The Taiping Rebellion ended in 1864, and the Imperial Court set in motion the [[Tongzhi Restoration]], a series of reforms aimed at slowing or reversing the dynasty's decline. While the expansion of foreign presence and influence in China at this time was widely seen in a negative light, the end of the Taiping Rebellion brought at least a respite from the war and chaos of previous decades, and is said to have been encouraging enough in that alone to warrant some calling the period a "revival" or "restoration." While China did not yet at this time set itself on the course towards industrialization, the economy was strengthened and expanded by a variety of agricultural policies, land reclamation projects, tax reforms, improvements in local administration, and so forth. Even among those who did advocate for an adoption of Western technologies (especially in military applications), the focus was on a restoration of virtuous government as conceived traditionally, according to Confucian ideals of the upright and virtuous gentleman scholar administrator.<ref>Wm. Theodore de Bary and Wing-sit Chan, ''Sources of Chinese Tradition'', vol 2, Columbia University Press (1964), 43-44.</ref>
The Taiping Rebellion ended in 1864, and the Imperial Court set in motion the [[Tongzhi Restoration]], a series of reforms aimed at slowing or reversing the dynasty's decline. While the expansion of foreign presence and influence in China at this time was widely seen in a negative light, the end of the Taiping Rebellion brought at least a respite from the war and chaos of previous decades, and is said to have been encouraging enough in that alone to warrant some calling the period a "revival" or "restoration." While China did not yet at this time set itself on the course towards industrialization, the economy was strengthened and expanded by a variety of agricultural policies, land reclamation projects, tax reforms, improvements in local administration, and so forth. Even among those who did advocate for an adoption of Western technologies (especially in military applications), the focus was on a restoration of virtuous government as conceived traditionally, according to Confucian ideals of the upright and virtuous gentleman scholar administrator.<ref>Wm. Theodore de Bary and Wing-sit Chan, ''Sources of Chinese Tradition'', vol 2, Columbia University Press (1964), 43-44.</ref>
