2. The main purpose of Zheng He's voyage to the West is: to publicize national prestige and strengthen ties with overseas countries; The main purpose of Columbus's voyage is generally explained from the economic point of view, and he thinks that his direct purpose is to find gold. Another important reason is that Europe needs eastern trade.
Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas are the farthest places that China has been to, but those places have long been known and discovered by the world. When Columbus discovered the new continent, he discovered a continent that was unknown to the world at that time.
Extended data:
Comparison between China and the West;
Although Zheng He's voyage to the Western Ocean was huge, China's fleet disappeared in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea shortly after the death of Ming Chengzu and Zheng He, and China's voyage was suddenly interrupted, which brought the established ties between China and western countries to an abrupt end.
Since then, China's traditional overseas trade market has gradually been occupied by Europeans, and finally withdrew from the brewing world market. On the contrary, after Columbus and da Gama opened up new routes, they set off a wave of ocean navigation in western Europe.
In China, Zheng He's voyage to the West, as a political task of the country, did not stimulate China's economy much. In the west, the profits of commodities and maritime trade in the East directly accelerated the primitive accumulation of capitalism.
References:
Baidu Encyclopedia-Zheng He's Journey to the West
Baidu Encyclopedia-Christopher Columbus