Asymmetry and China's Tributary System.

The article offers the author's insights on the tributary system and the centrality of the basic idea for diplomacy in China. The author argues that the country's situation as the central kingdom of Asia is more basic to its external relationships than its power asymmetry. He discusses Zhou Fangyin's argument on the equilibrium analysis of the tributary system. He also explores the relationship between China and Vietnam from the Song dynasty to the Qing dynasty.