The newly independent United States dispatched consuls to Guangzhou as early as 1784—the first was Samuel Shaw, the supercargo on the Empress of China, These men had never been formally received by Chinese officials as state representatives. The two countries had acknowledged each other's existence before 1844, but the negotiations and treaty of that year marked the first recognition under international law. Formal diplomatic relations began 16 June 1844 as the countries engaged in the negotiations which led to the Treaty of Wangxia.
