The Tientsin Accord, concluded on May 11,…

The Tientsin Accord, concluded on May 11, 1884, provides for a Chinese troop withdrawal from Tonkin in return for a comprehensive treaty that will settle details of trade and commerce between France and China and provide for the demarcation of its disputed border with Vietnam.

Fournier is not a professional diplomat, and the Tientsin Accord contains several loose ends.

Crucially, it fails to explicitly state a deadline for the Chinese troop withdrawal from Tonkin.

The French assert that the troop withdrawal is to take place immediately, while the Chinese argue that the withdrawal is contingent upon the conclusion of the comprehensive treaty.

In fact, the Chinese stance is an ex post facto rationalization, designed to justify their unwillingness or inability to put the terms of the accord into effect.

The accord is extremely unpopular in China, and provokes an immediate backlash.

The war party calls for Li Hongzhang's impeachment, and his political opponents intrigue to have orders sent to the Chinese troops in Tonkin to hold their positions.

Li Hongzhang hints to the French that there might be difficulties in enforcing the accord, but nothing specific is said.

The French assume that the Chinese troops will leave Tonkin as agreed, and make preparations for occupying Lang Son and other cities up to the Chinese border.

The defeat at Bac Ninh, coming close on the heels of the fall of Son Tay, had strengthened the hand of the moderate element in the Chinese government and temporarily discredited the extremist 'Purist' party led by Zhang Zhidong, which is agitating for a full-scale war against France.

Further French successes in the spring of 1884, including the capture of Hung Hoa and Thai Nguyen, has convinced the Empress Dowager Cixi that China should come to terms, and an accord is reached between France and China in May.

The negotiations take place in Tianjin (Tientsin).

Li Hongzhang, the leader of the Chinese moderates, represents China; and Captain François-Ernest Fournier, commander of the French cruiser Volta, represents France.