More British subjects have been trading in China than any other Europeans.
Despite this, the British have no direct contact with the emperor, in contrast to the Portuguese, whose Jesuit missionaries retain permanent positions at the imperial court.
Henry Dundas, Viscount Melville, officially instructs Lord Macartney to negotiate a relaxation of the Canton System, such that British traders can operate in more ports and markets, and to obtain a small island on the Chinese coast from which British merchants can operate under British jurisdiction.
He is also to establish a permanent embassy in Beijing so as to create a direct line of communication between the two governments, cutting out the Cantonese merchants who had served as middlemen.
Finally, he is to gather intelligence on the Chinese government and society, about which little is known in Europe at this time.
The instructions from Dundas also stipulate that Macartney should establish trade relations with other nations of the East.
To this effect, Macartney is given letters of credence to the Emperor of Japan, to be executed after completing his mission to China.
The instructions state that it may be useful for him to visit Japan to establish trade relations, particularly to enable a trade in tea.
Despite the misgivings of the East India Company about the potential downsides of the mission, the Company is compelled by the government to fund the effort.
Dundas and Macartney prioritize national interests over those of the Company, which fears the loss of its monopoly position, and the possibility that the embassy will strain diplomatic relations instead of improving them.
By sending a direct representative of the British crown, British politician and later Foreign Secretary Lord Grenville reasons that the mission will be given greater attention than if it had been sent "only in the name of a trading company".
One of the goals of the embassy is to demonstrate the utility of British science and technology, in hopes of encouraging Chinese purchases of British goods.
In keeping with these objectives, the mission is to bring with it a number of gifts including clocks, telescopes, weapons, textiles, and other products of technology.
Macartney intends the display of technical prowess to reflect Britain's "national character", one of ingenuity, exploration, and curiosity about the natural world.
Nevertheless, Dundas reminds him that the mission is not "a delegation of the Royal Society"
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