Due to the Germans only being interested in trade, the Chinese government saw Germany as a partner in helping China in its modernisation. In the 1880s, the German shipyard AG Vulcan Stettin built two of the most modern and powerful warships of its day (the pre-dreadnought battleships "Zhenyuan" and "Dingyuan") for the Chinese Beiyang Fleet, which saw considerable action in the First Sino-Japanese War. After China's first modernization efforts looked to be a failure after its crushing defeat in war, Yuan Shi-kai requested German help in creating the Self-Strengthening Army () and the Newly-Created Army (新建陸軍; Xīnjìan Lùjūn). German assistance concerned military, industrial, and technical matters. For example, in the late 1880s, the Chinese government signed a contract with the German company Krupp to build a series of fortifications around Port Arthur.