{"record":{"aliases":[],"appointmentIds":["china-398d57ac60473a"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/kai-fu-shah-e9fd47b32f/","countrySlug":"china","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/kai-fu-shah-e9fd47b32f/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Kai Fu Shah, also known as Xia Xiefu, came to Washington with experience in consular work, overseas education, and provincial administration. His earlier posts included supervising Chinese students in Japan, serving as consul in New York, and directing the Tianjin mint. He was appointed minister to the United States and Cuba in 1913. After returning to China in 1915, he held positions in banking and industrial enterprises, including the Hanyeping coal and iron company.","On September 15, 1914, Shah and Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan signed a treaty establishing a permanent commission to investigate disputes that ordinary diplomacy could not resolve. Each country undertook to refrain from hostilities while the commission investigated. The agreement formed part of Bryan's effort to make investigation and delay a practical means of preventing war.","Shah also sought American assistance for Chinese communities beyond the United States. In July 1915 he reported that soldiers and civilians had looted Chinese homes and businesses in Cananea, Mexico. He asked the State Department to arrange for the nearest American consul to use his good offices to protect the community."],"id":"china:kai fu shah","identifiers":{},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-e9fd47b32fe3d1084b62.html","name":"Kai Fu Shah","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["zhejiang-shah"],["frus-shah-peace"],["frus-shah-cananea"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-e9fd47b32fe3d1084b62.html","relatedEvents":[],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"9cd974be82bee90f","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"2012-09-12","id":"zhejiang-shah","locator":"Biographical entry","publisher":"Zhejiang Archives","title":"夏偕复","type":"reference","url":"https://zjdy.zjdafw.gov.cn/art/2012/9/12/art_25_14654.html"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"1914-09-15","id":"frus-shah-peace","locator":"Treaty Series 619","publisher":"U.S. Department of State","title":"Treaty between the United States and China for the advancement of general peace","type":"primary-record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1915/d42"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"1915-07-24","id":"frus-shah-cananea","locator":"FRUS 1915, document 1692","publisher":"U.S. Department of State","title":"The Chinese Minister (Shah) to the Secretary of State","type":"primary-record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1915/d1692"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"2026-10-26","id":"mission-c3b3f6b01fc75ebfe9b0","locator":"Appointment and credentials chronology; its modern page heading does not identify the government represented by every historical entry.","publisher":"","title":"U.S. Department of State: Chinese diplomatic representation","type":"Mission record","url":"https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/91588.htm"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"2026-10-26","id":"mission-0d67afec1359e1f0d972","locator":"Separates government representation, U.S. recognition, and the 1979 change in diplomatic relations.","publisher":"","title":"Office of the Historian: recognition and relations with China","type":"Mission record","url":"https://history.state.gov/countries/china"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"2026-10-26","id":"mission-5c01dd28cd3c280a8637","locator":"The Washington legation represented the Beijing government in the early Republic. The July 1912 official notification specifies five equal stripes, red, yellow, blue, white and black, in 4:3 proportions. The southern government’s earlier use of the white-sun flag is not applied retroactively to these envoys.","publisher":"","title":"Republic of China five-color flag (Beiyang government)","type":"Mission record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1912/d302"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"2026-10-26","id":"mission-43a301dbb56e9082f46f","locator":"Nationalist-government representation, including the R.O.C. embassy after 1949 through the end of 1978. The P.R.C. flag does not apply to these appointments.","publisher":"","title":"Republic of China blue-sky, white-sun and red-field flag","type":"Mission record","url":"https://english.president.gov.tw/Page/96"}],"topics":["peace treaties","Chinese communities in Mexico","consular protection"]},"schemaVersion":1}