Trade between China and Britain was dealt in favor of the Chinese. Tea, silk and porcelain remained desirable and high in demand for the British, but the Chinese did not find British goods as desirable and would only accept silver in payment for their goods, thus creating an imbalance. In order to reverse this situation, the British began smuggling opium into China, where they only accepted payments in silver as well. This created an endless cycle as Chinese citizens became addicted to opium, and the silver earned from opium sales would be used in turn by the British to pay for more Chinese goods as mentioned earlier, such as tea. It eventually led to the Opium wars, where Britain was victorious, and had allowed them to gain trading rights within China's borders as well as other concessions made by the Chinese.
