In the first stage, that is, during the Westernization Movement, no matter the enlightened landlord class, they all put forward the slogan of learning from foreigners to control foreigners and began to develop modern industry and commerce. The main purpose is to raise funds for military enterprises. Many modern industrial and commercial enterprises jointly run by the government and the people, such as Anqing Ordnance Institute, Fuzhou Shipping Bureau and Hanyang Iron Works, objectively promoted the development of industry and commerce until the Westernization Movement in the Sino-Japanese War failed and the industry and commerce fell into a trough.

In the second stage, during the reform period, the reformists, represented by the bourgeois reformists, put forward many policies and measures conducive to the development of industry and commerce. Although many of them have not been finally implemented, they have also contributed to the development of industry and commerce.

In the third stage, after the Revolution of 1911, Sun Yat-sen and others who overthrew the Manchu rule and represented the interests of the bourgeoisie formulated a series of policies to vigorously develop industry and commerce, which developed rapidly during this period. However, with the failure of the Revolution of 1911 and the exploitation and oppression of imperialism, it finally sank again.

In the fourth stage, after the outbreak of World War I, imperialism was too busy with the war to look east. The national industrialists, led by Yan Fu and others, put forward the slogan of saving the country through industry, and industry and commerce reached their peak in this period. With the end of World War I, the imperialists returned to China, and they soon fell into depression. -Common sense economy.