The correct answer is C) the United States did not take territory, but proposed open trade.
<em>The United States role in carving out spheres of influence in China was that the United States did not take territory, but proposed open trade. </em>
Instead of permanent military invasions, the United States used other effective methods to extended its sphere of influence over China. In opposition to other European countries that forayed into China and tried to control and evangelized China, the United States used its economic and industrial power to extend its influence over the Chinese territory.
