China was most prosperous when it was divided up into Spheres of Influence. The Chinese are just a simple race who adhere to any authority, foreign or otherwise, and the best authority for China being is that of several European empires.
I'll never forget the old film-reel footage of French soldiers pulling some tiny infant Chinese girl from the mud when Shanghai was going to the shit thanks to the Communists. No doubt Chinese soldiers would have left the poor girl in the mud, possibly laughing at the same time.