Britain influenced China by establishing a British government in Hong Kong, in its quest for opium and fine products from Asia. Great Britain and some European countries began the trade of opium paying with gold for this one, since the European products had a low demand in China; this was part of the trade imbalance with China. There was a huge demand in Europe for Chinese tea, silks and porcelain pottery, which led to two wars, called the Opium Wars, in which China lost and had to accept the terms of Europe, while its population began to become addicted to opium. The British way of life and the addiction to opium, plus intervention in the Chinese government, only ended with the arrival of the Communists.
