what does "the chips were down foreigners yielded to power"mean?
Li Hung-chang approved of these suggestions and added several of his own, especially stressing military modernization. In spite of the diplomatic cooperation of the 1860s, Li feared that when the chips were down foreigners yielded to power, not to international law. The Chinese desperately needed to train new officers in the use of modern weapons and to replace their unwieldy provincial garrisons with smaller, more mobile armies. Coastal defenses had to be strengthened along the North China Sea and around the Yangtze. Arsenals needed to be constructed so that the country did not have to depend upon foreigners for guns and warships.I don't understand the "chips", what does it mean?what does "the chips were down"mean?

Question

what does "the chips were down foreigners yielded to power"mean?
Li Hung-chang approved of these suggestions and added several of his own, especially stressing military modernization. In spite of the diplomatic cooperation of the 1860s, Li feared that when the chips were down foreigners yielded to power, not to international law. The Chinese desperately needed to train new officers in the use of modern weapons and to replace their unwieldy provincial garrisons with smaller, more mobile armies. Coastal defenses had to be strengthened along the North China Sea and around the Yangtze. Arsenals needed to be constructed so that the country did not have to depend upon foreigners for guns and warships.I don't understand the "chips", what does it mean?what does "the chips were down"mean?

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"Yield" can mean a few things. Example yeild (to produce, to slow down, etc..) in this case its the sense of giving away to pressure, or force. As in "the door yielded to a gentle push" . Basically when things go tough foreigners decisions are forced by power. Hope this helps.

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It is quite a well-written passage on Chinese history.  Which book is it, Miss Sunflower?

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"Chips" are gambling chips.  It is still undecided whether "down" means "low" or "when all bets have been placed".

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"When the chips are down" is an idiom .  It means
"when you are in a difficult or dangerous situation, especially one which tests whether you can trust people or which shows people's true opinions".

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"The chips are down"  is just a common saying indicating; things are not going well. In a literal sense if you are in a casino, the money you are chips. When your chips are down means you have less chips. This is bad, so we use that term to describe that things are not going well.