China–India relations major economies in the world. Growth in diplomatic and economic influence has increased the significance of their bilateral relationship. Cultural and economic relations between China and India date back to ancient times. The Silk Road not only served as a major trade route between India and China, but is also credited for facilitating the spread of Buddhism from India to East Asia. During the 19th century, China's growing opium trade with the East India Company triggered the First and Second Opium Wars. During World War II, India and China both played a crucial role in halting the progress of Imperial
Global silver trade from the 16th to 18th centuries became a player in the global economy via frequent Ming merchant ships arriving to extract Japan's abundance of silver and exchange goods. Japan increased its wealth through successful trilateral trade with Portugal and China as Japan now had Chinese goods to offer the Portuguese who had silver mines of their own. Founder of the Ming China dynasty, Hongwu, actually sought to eliminate silver from the market due to his fear of inflation which he previously experienced in the Yuan dynasty. His attempt involved imposing harsh limits on silver mining to stop its flow into the market and subsequently replaced it