The maintenance in a certain territory of equal commercial and industrial rights for the nationals of all countries. As a specific policy, it was first advanced by the United States, but it was rooted in the typical most-favored-nation clause of the treaties concluded with China after the Opium War (1839-42). Although the Open Door is generally associated with China, it also received recognition at the Berlin Conference of 1885, which declared that no power could levy preferential duties in the Congo basin. This marked a significant departure from the United States' tradition of isolationism.

U.S. proposal to settle disputes over trade with China in the early twentieth century; would allow the European powers and the U.S. to trade with China equally.

A century-old diplomatic term (describing the granting of equal trade status to all countries doing business in a given area) that schools now use informally to describe their friendliness to parents and students. Principals with an open door policy make themselves readily available to teachers, students, and parents; teachers with an open door policy give parents easy access to the classroom.

a crucial tool for maintaining an area of stability and enhancing prosperity in our neighbourhood