Byzantine coins dating to the 6th-8th centuries were found last year in Chinese graves. This raises interesting prospects to study the relationship between the two states.

The gold Byzantine coins and their numerous Chinese copies were found in royal tombs and had been placed over the mouth of the deceased or near the head. The copies raise questions, since the counterfeiting of coins was strictly prohibited throughout China on pain of death. In the Middle Ages, the Chinese saw Byzantium as a place of prosperity, and there is evidence of this in many old Chinese ceramics and illustrations that employ Byzantine elements. More

Given the place of New Rome on the major east-west trade routes of the day, this should not be surprising, I should think.