In the 1790s, a British delegation led by Lord Macartney came to China with a collection of newfangled manufactured goods and asked the Qianlong Emperor for the right to trade. The emperor airily dismissed the request on the basis that China was completely self-sufficient and had no need of any British goods. The British ultimately found a commodity that the Chinese people could not resist–opium–and things went downhill from there.
Like his imperial predecessor, Xi Jinping wants China to be self-sufficient. He is determined to avoid becoming dependent on American tech, and he has taken significant steps both to promote Chinese energy production and to protect the sea lanes for oil tankers. Finally, he wants American and European businesses and consumers to be so dependent on the Chinese market and goods that they won’t dare challenge China in its sphere of influence. It is an area in which he has had considerable success, particularly with the Germans.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. It is truer of China than most places.