Technological and industrial history of China

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At the time of its founding, the People's Republic of China was one of the poorest countries in the world. In the early 1950s, its industry developed rapidly through a state-led process heavily influenced by the Soviet experience. Aiming to close the gap between its political ambitions and its phase of development, China began the Great Leap Forward, which sought to even more rapidly industrialize the country. The effort largely failed, and its policies contributed to famine.

Until the middle of the 1960s, industry was largely concentrated in northeast China. Following the Sino-Soviet split, Chinese leadership increasingly feared invasion from the Soviet Union or the United States. During the Third Five-Year Plan period, China instituted the Third Front Campaign to develop national defense and industrial infrastructure in the country's interior. The campaign further developed China's poorer regions. In developing infrastructure and human talent in these areas, the campaign also provided the conditions favorable for the Reform era's market-oriented development.

In 2015, China announced its Made in China 2025 initiative to accelerate domestic innovation in areas deemed crucial for the future of the world economy. China also seeks to increase both domestic innovation and domestic consumption through its economic strategy of dual circulation.