The European West thought it could extend its exploitation into China, as it had in so many other places. The British, the Portuguese, and others tried to bring their imperialism to China and the rest of East Asia, but found it thwarted for the most part.
Sadly, they destroyed any chance of establishing an ethical commerce with China and the others, by introducing poison as a trade good. Why would any nation trust such a trading partner? Of course the Europeans brought their foreign religion and its evangelists with them on the ships. Another mistake.
During my life, I have met a couple of old-time China evangelists, of the Protestant sort. One family, I knew pretty well, since I dated a daughter in my age group. What always puzzled me, even as a teenager, was how they spoke of the Chinese people as being like "uneducated children," while at the same time acquiring antiques and works of art from that culture in quantity and bringing it home with them. I was told many stories about individual objects they had acquired, usually with a joke about how little they had paid for what were their "priceless antiques." Of course, they also had many fakes in their collection, since they had no real knowledge of what they were buying. The greed and dishonesty was palpable in them. That they were sold fake merchandise escaped their attention.
Godly people, though, they were, by their own accounts. 
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