After 1850, the invasion by western powers made a huge impact on China, and in order to deal with the changeable situation, the Qing government proceeded to carry out reforms in various aspects in the last decades of the dynasty with the aim of strengthening the country so as to be able to contend with the invaders. The establishment of the Zongli Yamen in 1861 was the first measure taken by the Qing government to respond to the changing situation and to carry out the new policies, and it was also the first specialized diplomatic institution in China. Initially, the Zongli Yamen was in charge of a wide range of foreign affairs, including establishing new types of industries modeled after those of the west. However, in the late 19th century, foreign powers intended to open China to business, and the Qing government responded only passively. As a result, the conflict between China and the western powers led to several wars which China lost in sequence, and it was forced to cede territory, to pay reparations and to delimiting concessions, step by step forfeiting its rights. Moreover, foreign powers took advantages of the Chinese people’s ignorance of international law and asked the Qing government to consent to the granting of most-favored-nation status and consular jurisdiction. Thus, China gave up its national sovereignty without awareness. The newly-established institution of the Zongli Yamen bore much humiliation itself, but in its interaction with foreign countries it often brought much more humiliation to the Chinese people.

     In 1901, the Qing government failed in the war against the Eight-Nation Alliance and signed the more humiliating Boxer Protocol. Article 12 in the protocol stipulated the abolition of the Zongli Yamen and the establishment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ranking before other six ministries. As a result, the specialized institution for dealing with foreign affairs in China was confirmed. Nevertheless, the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty was too late to save the country from decline. What the R.O.C. inherited from the Qing Dynasty in the diplomatic arena, apart from a good-sized and international diplomatic system, were the unequal treaties which had made China a sub-colony of western powers. The practice of diplomacy by the R.O.C. was thus initiated in difficulties and encountered more challenges during the hundred years.