(idiom) To play off one foreign power against another; to use foreigners to subdue other foreigners. Historically used to describe the policy of letting different groups of outsiders fight among themselves to weaken them. Also used as a late Qing slogan for adopting Western technology to defend against foreign imperialism.
countering imperialism with technology
A late Qing modernizing slogan advocating for the adoption of Western science and technology to defend against foreign encroachment
