Christianity in China
Although French Prime Minister François Guizot had given Lagrené only a mandate to negotiate a commercial treaty with France, Lagrené decided that he wanted to enhance France's international prestige by securing a rescission of Yongzheng Emperor's prohibition of Christianity in China from 1724. France could thus become the protectorate of Catholics in China, like France in the Levant. After protracted negotiations with Qiying, most of which Lagrené entrusted to his interpreter , the Daoguang Emperor issued an edict in February 1846 that legalized the practice of Christianity in China.