Well, they'd never hear of China again because the new emperor thought it was a failure and ended the missions. If they had continued them and built on the early expeditions, then they might have been seen as more "productive".Pellucid said:...if by "quite well," you mean "utterly unproductively, only serving to impress some people who would never hear of China ever again," then yes.
A good number of states fell under the influence of China after that, mind. Malacca is a great example.
cheers