Will China Revive Its International Tribute System?

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is welcomed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other officials upon his arrival at Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing late on May 19, 2026. Vladimir Smirnov/Pool/AFP via Getty ImagesCommentaryRay Dalio, the billionaire founder of the Bridgewater hedge fund, says that the United States is now seen as an unreliable military ally, and so leaders are increasingly having relations with China that are “like a tribute system.”In such a system, historically, weak nations pay tribute to a powerful emperor for the “privilege” of not being invaded. Sometimes the tribute is symbolic, and sometimes a burdensome tax.