Question

Which country invaded parts of China in World War I?
A. Germany
B. Austria
C. Russia
D. Japan

Answer 1

Hint: The Central Powers in World War I were Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria whereas the Allied Forces (Triple Entente) were France, Britain, Russia, Italy and Japan. China was not directly involved in the war until it got invaded in 1914.

Complete answer: China and Japan had been both competing to set up their dominance on Asia for the past many decades. China had been a very strong nation in the Qing dynasty but losing the First Sino-Japanese war ended that. The Chinese Republican Regime which was a military leadership was not strong enough and Russia and Japan have held territories of China in the 19th and 20th century but did not invade China during the World War I itself as they were the Allied Forces and the Allies, especially Britain, never wanted China to be a part of the war.

Let’s analyse the options;
Option A- During World War I, even Germany wanted to gain control over the Asian theatre and sought it by invading the Qingdao province of China and setting up a German colony there by the excuse of two German missionaries being killed.
Option B- Though Austria was a Central Power and an ally of Germany, it wasn’t the Austrian army which invaded China.
Option C- Russia was an Allied Power and China wanted to be a part of them. Even though Russia had held parts of China under its control, it did not invade China during World War I.
Option D- Japan saw this as an opportunity to gain control over the region by ousting Germany from the occupied territory in China as a disguised help. This made the tussle even intense and therefore, the World War was introduced in the Asian theatre. But it was not looked upon as an invasion.
Thus, the correct option is (A).

Note: By 1914, President Shikai of the Chinese Republic had offered 50,000 troops to the Entente for letting the Chinese join the war and it had been refused. But in 1916, with an enormous number of European troops dying, John Jordan, the British PM then accepted the offer and proposed it to other allies after which China joined the war.