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> sat on their thrones and levied tributes from every farflung nation

You mean, like the US is now doing?



Nope. Would have been the case if the US imposed usage taxes on foreign users of its goods and services, like tech products and cloud services, but that's not what's happening.

The Chinese tributes were more like payments for the right to trade those goods (which were separate from the cost of goods itself). That's why when the European traders arrived in China, the Emperor simply thought that they were another tributary state seeking protection and trade rights.


The US is imposing terms on foreign countries for use of its goods, that's what the chips restrictions are all about.




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