A stronger China and European expansion in Asia

If nineteenth-century China had been stronger, would European powers have tried to colonize Korea or Japan instead?

A China strong enough to resist would be unlikely to be colonized outright, while Korea would more plausibly become an arena of Chinese and Japanese competition than an easy European substitute.

Imperial expansion could proceed through agreements with local rulers as well as military conquest. The East India Company example concerns acquiring tax-collection powers and paying princes and rajas while taking over administration. Northern Nigeria provides another example: opponents of the Sokoto Caliphate sought British support, with Malaya also briefly mentioned. Such arrangements still involved foreign rule and did not eliminate resistance or fighting. British trading ports and coaling stations could grow into territorial possessions. In the counterfactual, a strong China would be harder to colonize, while Korea would remain exposed to Chinese or Japanese intervention and Japan would not automatically become an easier target.