Depending on what kind of stance was taken toward Chinese dynasty, neighboring countries were classified into several categories of international relations such as sakuho (conferring a peerage with papers), choko (bringing tributary) and goshi (relation to conduct a limited amount of trade).
中国王朝に対しどのようなスタンスを取るかという点で、（中国王朝から見て）周辺諸国はいくつかの国際関係の種類、たとえば冊封や朝貢、互市に分類される。