Treaty of Kulja

The Treaty of Kulja (also spelled Kuldja; Chinese: 中俄伊犁塔爾巴哈臺通商章程; Russian: Кульджинский трактат) was a treaty between Qing China and the Russian Empire, signed in 1851, opening Kulja (Huiyuan and later Ningyuan) and Chuguchak to Sino-Russian trade. Prepared by the first Russian consul to China, Ivan Zakharov, the treaty was preceded by a gradual Russian advance throughout the nineteenth century into Kazakhstan in direct competition with British efforts to impose self-advantageous trade terms on China.