This chapter analyses the Qing Empire’s refusal to adopt, and eventual integration into, the European system of states in the late nineteenth century. It argues that the leadership prioritized the preservation of the Sino-centric tianxia ideology and dynastic legitimacy over pragmatic gains. The resistance to diplomatic westernization illustrates how ideology, rather than material concerns, constrained the political leadership of the Qing Empire and contributed to their relative weakness in geopolitical confrontations with foreign states.