World War I dealt a serious blow to many countries - the losses were very large, the population was recovering slowly, strained relations remained between yesterday’s enemies. The contradictions between the four leading countries of the world — France, the USA, England, and Japan — were especially acute. The reason for these contradictions was the division of the Pacific Ocean and the strength of the navy.
Relations between the two countries were heating up more and more, everyone clearly felt that a few more years - and a new war would become inevitable. Then it was decided to convene a conference at which all the contradictions will be agreed upon and the opposing countries will be able to come to a mutually beneficial solution, which will prevent the conflict.
The United States was chosen as the venue for the conference , and the Washington Conference of 1921 was convened in their capital.
The following should be noted: the Washington Conference was convened precisely at the initiative of the United States - they hoped to achieve the conclusion of agreements favorable to themselves. Officially, the main goal of the conference was to stop the movement of the peoples of the Soviet Union and dependent countries. Remarkably, the government of the Soviet Union was not invited to the conference, and when the delegation of the Far Eastern Republic was sent to Washington, it was denied admission to the conference.
The Washington Conference was held from November 1921 to February 1922, and its decisions were very important for the whole world. Especially significant were the three treaties: the “treaty of four,” “the treaty of nine,” and the “treaty of five.”
The Washington Conference signed the "Treaty of Four" on December 13, the 21st year. As the name implies, four powers participated in this treaty: the USA, France, England and Japan. The essence of this agreement is the agreement of all four countries to jointly protect the agreed territorial rights to the Pacific Ocean. In addition, the "treaty of four" stipulated the severance of the Anglo-Japanese alliance, which lasted from 1902. This alliance was broken due to tangible pressure from the United States, as the alliance of England and Japan was directed against some plans of the United States.
The Washington Conference adopted the "Treaty of Five" immediately before its completion, on February 6, 1922. This treaty also has a second name - the Washington Sea Treaty. The following powers participated in it: France, USA, Japan, Great Britain and Italy. This agreement stipulated the need to limit the naval armed forces of all countries participating in it. According to the sea treaty, the United States gained an advantage over the forces of the navy.
In addition to the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom secured some advantages through this treaty. Thus, Great Britain and the United States were given Japan the obligation not to build bases in the Pacific Ocean east of 110 east longitude meridian. And Britain retained its actual advantage due to the fact that the tonnage of the navy was not limited.
The "Treaty of Nine" the Washington Conference adopted simultaneously with the "Treaty of Five." The following countries participated in this agreement: France, Belgium, USA, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and China. According to this agreement, all countries participating in it received equal opportunities, and China became a country that everyone could use (and not just Japan, as was previously planned). Japan, however, undertook to refuse to submit to China "Twenty-one demands."
Only here, the rights of China when concluding the treaty were somewhat infringed: not all Japanese troops were withdrawn from it, and China itself was imposed a special customs tariff that strengthens its (China's) inequality.
The American government made plans to seize the best positions on the CER, but, thanks to the resistance of China, which was infringed on its rights and offended by the Soviet Union, these plans could not be realized.