Monarchies were hardly an open political entity and the Middle Ages were hardly tolerant times. So perhaps the base ingredient is rather simple, be open to trade. There have been periods when both China and Japan were inward-looking, and it took gunboat diplomacy to force open trade routes.*
Today, regardless of politics, China is most definitely open for business, and actively courting the world for trade. Many expats choose to live, work and build businesses there. If you don't, thanks to technology, you can still do your business with China while sipping a pumpkin spice latte in Starbucks.
*As an aside, today's multi-national corporations are remarkably similar in many ways to the British East India Company, just without the muskets!
Monarchies were hardly an open political entity and the Middle Ages were hardly tolerant times. So perhaps the base ingredient is rather simple, be open to trade. There have been periods when both China and Japan were inward-looking, and it took gunboat diplomacy to force open trade routes.*
Today, regardless of politics, China is most definitely open for business, and actively courting the world for trade. Many expats choose to live, work and build businesses there. If you don't, thanks to technology, you can still do your business with China while sipping a pumpkin spice latte in Starbucks.
*As an aside, today's multi-national corporations are remarkably similar in many ways to the British East India Company, just without the muskets!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_India_Company