“The idea that some foreigner might do it to China is an insult to finely-tuned Chinese sensibilities.”
I think the Chinese did experience it quote a bit during the 1800’s when all of Europe was colonizing them.
Britain, France and Germany are all of Europe? And spare me the nonsense about China being colonized. India was colonized. China lost Hong Kong, Qingdao and Shanghai - less than 0.1% of Chinese territory. How many countries in the world have not lost territory? And how many countries that have regained it whine on and on about it like China does? Bottom line - China's humiliation wasn't out of any special ill-treatment - the blow was to China's sense of its innate superiority.