What does this map show about the importance of the west coast of north america?

map of the americas and east asia, with cities of hong kong, san diego, and new york city.

public domain

distance by sea between major ports before panama canal (in nautical miles)

route

distance

san diego to new york city 13,544
san diego to hong kong 6,428
new york city to hong kong 19,875

in the 1800s, chinese workers migrated to the united states, first to work in the gold mines, but also to take agricultural jobs, and factory work, especially in the garment industry. chinese immigrants were particularly instrumental in building railroads in the american west, and as chinese laborers grew successful in the united states, a number of them became entrepreneurs in their own right. as the numbers of chinese laborers increased, so did the strength of anti-chinese sentiment among other workers in the american economy. this finally resulted in legislation that aimed to limit future immigration of chinese workers to the united states, and threatened to sour diplomatic relations between the united states and china.