Quote Originally Posted by andrewt
They weren't a power at all. The game is from 1700-1850. Meiji became emperor in 1868.

During this time period, there weren't really any major powers that were non-Western. The US is western and didn't "officially" become a superpower until years after the time period of the game ends. Russia is western. The Ottoman empire was declining, and even they are heavily influenced by the western world. China was in one of its weaker periods. India wasn't that strong either during this time.
During the 18th Century China was at the height of its power, even managing to defeat Russia in some border raids, I think...