Factors Influencing a State

A strong naval fleet influences the power of a state. The Ming Dynasty used their enormous expedition fleet headed by Zheng He to establish their power in the Indian Ocean and to demonstrate Chinese control over foreign trade in the area. The Chinese pretended like they wanted favor from other states / countries and gave away gifts, but their true motive was more selfish, and very effective. 

This is political because the expedition ships brought back leaders to pay tribute to China and receive gifts in return. The Ming Dynasty used their fleet to establish good relations with other political leaders. 

This is also economic because China's fleet visited such places like SE Asia, Indonesia, India, Arabia and E Africa and benefited from the exotic items they received from the rules of the foreign countries. Also, by having such a large fleet they were able to manage other countries' trade and make sure that China got the best end of the deal.