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This is my first post here so let me know what you guys think. I've got plenty more scenarios so if this works out well I might post those too.

My thinking is that if instead of calling him back, the Chinese government allowed Zheng He and his compatriots to continue their exploration of the East, eventually reaching the West Coast of North America.

My thinking: The Chinese establish an autonomous region from Alaska to Baja California, east to the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. The Chinese, while allowing autonomy to the Native Americans, still maintain a heavy influence in the region, thus being able to keep the Spanish out and eventually allowing the US to lease the territory in 1849 following the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill for 150 years, the lease thus ending in 1999. The territory, despite protest from the locals and the conservative population of the country, is turned back over to China in 1999, becoming a semi-autonomous region, similar to Hong Kong and Macau.
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