Original sentence: But at that time, it was the position of Joseon, the Western world, and Japan that tributary states such as Joseon were virtually independent countries.The Qing government replied that "Joseon is both a dependent state and an autonomous state" Thus, it had the status of an autonomous dependency (속국자주, )
Edited sentence: The Qing government replied that "Joseon is both a dependent state and an autonomous state" Thus, it had the status of an autonomous dependency (속국자주, ) for China