Chinese civilization has a long history. Although it is an ancient civilization, China in the imperial era was never considered a global power, and it was not even an active participant in global affairs.
Before the Opium War , in the "world order" that dominated China's foreign relations, small political entities around wanted to pay tribute to the emperor of this "central empire". Including the current Chinese territory, they had previously existed as small countries. Of course, China's relatively powerful central government at that time also allowed them to exist, allowing these political entities to enjoy autonomy and peace.
Chinese emperors were rarely interested in expanding into regions outside the Asian continent. Although Genghis Khan hit Europe, they just conquered and left and did not occupy it. In a brief period of the 15th century, the Chinese emperor once allowed the construction of ocean-going ships. Zheng He voyages to the West are examples. Eunuch Zheng He voyages seven times, reaching the Middle East and the east coast of Africa.
But later emperors not only banned such ocean-going activities, but also banned the construction of ocean-going large ships. For them, it is troublesome to be able to manage China's long border well, let alone establish connections with countries far away from overseas. When the British envoy Macartney came to China in 1793 to propose trade, Emperor Qianlong said: "The Celestial Empire has abundant products and everything. It was not for foreign goods to communicate with the existence or absence." After the two Opium Wars from 1839 to 1842 and 1856 to 1860, European powers forced China to open some coastal ports, but the Chinese government almost never wanted to take the initiative to go beyond the territory of Asia. When the industrial revolution caused the rise of Western countries, as a country, China failed to effectively deal with the challenges. Due to China's weak response, Western imperialist powers dominated relations with China and even dominated industries and trade along China's coast.
To this day, we have seen a great Eastern power rise again and is inseparable from the exchanges between the world. This is attributed to the establishment of the new China by revolutionaries such as Mao Zedong and other revolutionaries, and also gradually integrate into the international community with Deng Xiaoping's leadership.
After laying the foundation, contemporary China kept a low profile, rose up and caught up, gradually expanded its voice, and moved forward towards the path of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
