Opium Wars Opium Wars The Opium Wars were two wars in the mid-19th century involving China and the British Empire over the British trade of opium and China's sovereignty. The clashes included the First Opium War (1839–1842) and the Second Opium War (1856–1860). The wars and events between them weakened the Qing dynasty and forced China to trade with the other parts of the world. In 1820, China's economy was the largest in the world, according to British economist Angus Maddison. Within a decade after the end of the Second Opium War, China's share of global GDP had fallen by half. In
Luxury goods of China are Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci. According to the report, watches and bags led the growth of the luxury market in 2010. The report documented the top three luxury brands in the country for the following products: Following a ban instituted in October, 2012 on government agencies purchasing luxury goods, often used as "gifts", sales of luxury goods in China remained strong, but slowed, even falling slightly for some luxury retailers in the 4th quarter of 2012. As of February 2014 2/3rds of the luxury goods purchased by the wealthy in the People's Republic of China were purchased by tourists