The description in the second paragraph of the procedures that Portuguese and other foreigners followed when trading in China supports which of the following inferences about trade policy in the later Ming Dynasty?

(A) The Ming Dynasty was very supportive of and welcoming to all commercial enterprise. (B) The Ming Dynasty sought to regulate trade strictly to limit contact with foreigners and ease collection of taxes. (C) The Ming Dynasty was too busy battling pirates along its coast to pay any attention to regular merchant activity. (D) The Ming Dynasty only allowed Portugal to trade with China through Canton, permitting only one boat a year.Explanation: The Ming Dynasty in its later years tried to enact measures to control foreign merchants’ endeavors in China, as the last paragraph details the Ming Canton system. Eliminate (A) because it is not supported by the passage. Eliminate (C) because the system of controlling trade is clearly present in the passage, so the Ming had to have had some interest in it. Eliminate (D) because it conflates China with Japan’s later restriction of foreign merchants. Choice (B) is the answer.