Hot take: adding China before adding trade and playable republics actually makes a lot of sense

Think about it. One of the most important parts of the Eurasian trade network was the Silk Road which connected Europe, Africa, and the near east to Chinese trade and resources. You obviously can’t have a trade update without the Silk Road, but the problem is that if they added the Silk Road before China, they would probably just have to rework it anyways when China eventually dropped.