Il trattato del 1866 e l'evoluzione dei rapporti fra Italia e Cina in epoca Qing

The first Sino-Italian treaty was signed in Beijing on October 26th, 1866. However, the treaty didn’t mark a new phase in the bilateral relations, because of Italy’s poor economic interests in the Middle Kingdom. Only in the late 1880s did Italy become aware of the fact that the Chinese diplomatic scene could provide a good opportunity to improve its foreign relations and finally decided to take an active part in the treaty system.