chapotraphouse

I tried reading The Long Twentieth Century at one point and Arrighi touched upon the isolationism aspect of the Qing dynasty in the first chapter. Europe wanted to colonise China, which they did, but not the other way round. This was mostly because in terms of trade there wasn't much that Europe could offer that China wanted. I am no expert but considering how the British Empire had to get China hooked on opium for something like tea (which is an iconic British beverage now) it can't be that far from the truth.