These treaties granted the Western powers a number of rights and privileges. The number of treaty ports increased, with new ports opened to Western trade along the Chinese coast, on the islands of Taiwan and Hainan, and along the Yangtze River in the interior. With the opening of the Yangtze River, foreigners also gained full access to the interior, and were free to travel and conduct business or missions anywhere in China. The British demanded the right of Chinese citizens to emigrate on British ships. British (and therefore, French, American and Russian) diplomats were permitted to establish legations and live in Beijing. The agreements reached at Tianjin also set a new, low tariff for imported goods, giving foreign traders an important advantage. Frustrated by irregularities in Chinese customs services, British and U.S. merchants finally established the Imperial Maritime Customs Service, which regulated trade for the benefit of foreign merchants and provided a steady source of revenue to the Chinese Government.
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