In October 1878, the Qing court sent Chonghou to Russia as its chief envoy. On October 2 of the following year, he signed the Treaty of Livadia and its three annexes. A Chinese historical account says that he signed “without the consent of the Qing government.”
The government refused to recognize the treaty. Chonghou was dismissed and handed to the Board of Punishments. He was pardoned on August 12, 1880. A second envoy, Zeng Jize, reopened the talks in St. Petersburg, and a revised treaty was signed there on February 24, 1881.