Invigorating commerce through foreign trade was one of the Ming government's primary goals. Chinese silk, porcelain, tea, and ironware all had a high reputation throughout the world. These commodities provided the material basis for the development of China's foreign trade structure.

　　For many centuries, valiant explorers from both East and West had been forging maritime routes across the dangerous waters of the Indian Ocean. The mutual desire to establish trade relations, as well as rapid advances in navigation and shipbuilding, served to stimulate the development of maritime transportation and trade. Chinese merchant ships first reached India and the Persian shore during the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280 AD). By the Tang-Song period (618-1279 AD), Chinese ships were regularly crossing the South China Sea, providing a steady supply of Chinese trade goods, including silk, porcelain, and tea, to overseas markets. During the early Ming Dynasty, Zheng He's western voyages impelled maritime commerce to its highest point yet.