In 1914 Japanese and British military forces liquidated Germany's holdings in China. Japan occupied the German military colony in Qingdao, and occupied portions of Shandong Province. China was financially chaotic, highly unstable politically, and militarily very weak. China declared war on Germany in August 1917 as a technicality to make it eligible to attend the postwar peace conference, where they hoped to find friends who would help block the threats of Japanese expansion. They planned to send a combat unit to the Western Front, but never did so. British diplomats were afraid that the U.S. and Japan would displace Britain's leadership role in the Chinese economy. They sought to play Japan and the United States against each other, while at the same time maintaining cooperation among all three nations against Germany.