E. The Western Imperialists

The Qing state had no Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A variety of bureaus and agencies handled relations with non-Chinese peoples and conducted them in different ways, and implied or stated the cultural inferiority of foreigners, while defending the state against them. In the early Qing, Dutch and Portuguese tried to establish trading privileges and had to settle for a status of "tributary nations" registered with the Ministries of Rituals. Because the British had the sense not to seek formal relations, they received permission to trade. China set up many exasperating barriers to trade with the West. Tensions mounted as the balance of trade forced them to offer hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of silver bullion for the silks, porcelains and teas. The British began to ship opium grown in India to China to exchange for goods.