I was about to ask for help understanding why the East India Company needed to sell anything in China? Why not just buy the tea/porcelain/etc in China and sell

I was about to ask for help understanding why the East India Company needed to sell anything in China? Why not just buy the tea/porcelain/etc in China and sell it in Europe for a profit? But in writing that question, I think I got the answer. With what money would the company buy the Chinese goods? They can’t pay with European money if there is nothing the Chinese want to buy from Europe. And they can’t acquire Chinese money without selling them something.