Yes, but that was hundreds of years ago. It really doesn't matter. If it weren't for Western, Japanese ,Korean and Taiwanese capital investments in China, their would be very little of value that comes out of China. Almost every electronic good is manufactured for a company not based in China.One of the few reasons for China's economic success , and it is a huge one, is their extremely low cost of manufacture. That's why the Chicom govt. wants to peg the RMB to the dollar. But with renewed pressure from the WTO, IMF, and other developing nations to let their currency float like other countries, that advantage may be gone. And with it all those jobs.And their economy.