Chinese-European relations reveals that the Chinese Empire was the most prosperous on the planet by any measure, from its standard of living to the size of its population, which accounted for one-third of humanity at the time. The Chinese, along with the Europeans and Americans, all recognized China’s top status. And China’s arm’s-length imperial trade policy was one practice of many designed to protect its status. There was a reason the emperor forbade foreigners from learning Chinese.
