Imperial China has had a long tradition of foreign relations.

Before European contact

In pre-modern times, the theory of foreign relations of China held that China was the Middle Kingdom, the center of world civilization, with the Chinese emperor being the leader of the civilized world. This view saw China as equivalent to all under heaven. All other states were considered to be tributaries, under the suzerain rule of China.

This political theory was largely accepted in East Asia, often even in periods of Chinese weakness, as in the Song Dynasty, when it did not accord with actual power relationships.

Unsurprisingly, there were periods when Chinese foreign relations could sometimes take on isolationist tones, because of the view that the rest of the world was poor and backwards and had little to offer.

Nevertheless, China was, from very early history, a center of trade. Many of China's interactions with the outside world came via the Silk Road. This included, during the first or second century AD, contact with representatives of the Roman Empire, and during the thirteenth century, contact with Marco Polo.

Chinese foreign policy was often aimed at containing the threat of so-called "barbarian" invaders (such as the Xiongnu, Mongols, and Jurchen) from the north. This could be done through military means, such as an active offense (campaigns into the north) or a more passive defense (as exemplified by the Great Wall). China also practiced heqin, "peace marriage". Chinese officers distinguished between "cooked barbarians " (those influenced by Chinese culture, such as Koreans) and "raw barbarians ".

In some periods, Chinese foreign policy was especially assertive. One such case was during the voyages of Zheng He during the Ming dynasty.

After European contact

One issue of the Western embassies to China was the kowtow. Western diplomats understood that kowtowing meant accepting the superiority of the Chinese emperor over their kings, something unacceptable.

The first diplomatic contact between China and the West occurred in 1665, when Russian explorers met the Manchus in what is today northeastern China. Using the common language of Latin, which the Chinese knew from Jesuit missionaries, the Chinese emperor and Russian tsar negotiated the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689, which deliniated the border between Russia and China, some of which exists to this day.

This view of the world changed radically during the Qing dynasty when China had to face the realities of its weakness and European strength. The Qianlong emperor was famous for rejecting an offer of trade by the British diplomat George Macartney in 1793, an action which angered Britain and would contribute to the Opium War. During the latter half of the 19th century, China had to learn the subtleties of European system of diplomacy.

Although China's long-term goal through this period was to regain its former stature, its short term goal was simply to survive. Possessing a weak army, it resorted to using international law and conflict between the different European nations to maintain a tenuous self-existence.

See also

• Sino-Roman relations