《中日修好條規》歷來被視為近代中日兩國的唯一對等條約。可嗣后清朝藩屬國的次第喪失事件和臺灣日據事件每每被處理成彼此無涉的孤立個案等研究現狀表明,中國學界對于條規本身的對等屬性問題尚缺少體系性的反思。事實上,肇端于牡丹社事件的日本征臺、巧取琉球、并吞朝鮮以及甲午戰后的割占臺灣等事件,無一不根源于條規這一法理前提。日本拆解宗藩體系的整體設計與虛實進路意味著,條規的簽署,不但讓中方喪失了東亞的傳統核心地位,還使清廷在日方的公法惡用下無法不棄琉保臺、棄韓自保直至割臺茍安。近代以降東亞世界的整體變局和日本對鄰國的侵越與壓迫,亦始自條規,成于條規。

The Sino-Japanese Friendship and Trade Treaty has long been regarded as China and Japan’s only treaty between equals in modern times. However,the fact that scholars later dealt with the successive losses of the Qing government’s tributaries and Japan ’s occupation of Taiwan as isolated cases indicates that Chinese academic circles have not systematically reflected on the nature of the Treaty. In fact,the Mudan Incident as well as events like Japan ’s later invasion of Taiwan,its duplicitous seizure of the Ryukyu Islands,its annexation of Korea,and its occupation of Taiwan after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894- 1895 all originated in the legal premises of the Treaty. Japan’s theoretical and practical approaches to disassembling the"tributary system"meant that the signing of the Treaty made China lose what had traditionally been its core position in East Asia. Furthermore,due to Japan’s misuse of international law,signing the Treaty forced the Qing court to give up the Ryukyu Islands to save Taiwan,to give up Korea to protect itself,and even to give up Taiwan to seek momentary ease. The changes in East Asia and Japan’s invasion and oppression of neighboring countries in modern times both resulted in the treaty and originated from it.