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Right after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the gross value of industrial output was merely 14 billion yuan, which included 1.58 million tons of steel products, 120,000 tons of crude oil, 32 million tons of coal, 4.3 billion kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity and 660,000 tons of cement. Industrial development in China lagged behind major capitalist countries for more than a century.
It has become a dream for all the Chinese people over the generations to realize industrial modernization and to transform the nation from an agricultural country to an industrial power.
Along with the growth of modern industry and a mature system of information technology, China, an agricultural country in the state of "poverty and blankness" has become an industrial giant. The value-added industries registered 10.74 trillion yuan in 2008, 23 times more than the 1978 level.
By the end of 2008, 210 kinds of home-made industrial products have ranked first worldwide; home-made units have taken up over 80 percent of total national installed power generation; and over 90 percent of 10-million-ton-level oil refinery equipment.
Creation of a modern industry system helps develop self-innovation
"Industrialization and telecommunication are not only the theme for the country's economic and social development, but also the mainstream for global economic growth," noted Feng Fei, director of the Research Department of Industrial Economy under the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC). China, with poor foundation and a large population of 1.3 billion, completed the industrialization process, which usually took developed countries 200 to 300 years in 60 years. Throughout the process, it was a period of amazing development:
In 1949, the first molten iron was produced in Angang Steel Company, which enjoyed the honorary title of "the eldest son of new China's industry". So far, China has been the world's top steel producer for more then ten consecutive years.
In 1952, the first home-made steam engine was developed. So far, China now owns the technology required to manufacture the 350 km-per-hour-bullet train.
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