During Xiangcheng's presidency, political independence and warlords scuffled, which happened after Xiangcheng died. The Beiyang regime recovered most of the concessions in the Qing Dynasty and abolished most of the non-treaties. It is eager to participate in the Paris Peace Conference as a victorious country.

Economically, Yuan Shikai actively developed the industrial economy. 1905, he raised money and supervised the construction of the first railway built by China people themselves. During the three years from 19 12 to 19 14, there were more than 4,000 new factories and flour mills built by the state capital. After Yuan Shikai was sentenced to retirement, he also said that "the official can't do it, and the industry has to do it." Yuan Shikai has made great contributions to the industrialization of China. After Yuan Shikai was in power for several years, the central finance has also undergone great changes, from borrowing in the early years of the Republic of China to saving 20 million inventories every year. In terms of education, Yuan Shikai abolished the imperial examination system that had been followed in China for more than 1000 years. In the case of financial constraints, Yuan Shikai would rather reduce the army and promote all free national schools, that is, four-year primary schools. He repeatedly emphasized the importance of education: "The rise and fall of a country depends on the people's morality, wisdom and strength. In order to increase the degree of these three, we must attach importance to national education. "

Before he proclaimed himself emperor, he played a positive role in promoting the democratic process in China. In the late Qing Dynasty, Yuan Shikai held high the banner of "constitutionalism", and almost fought alone to demand constitutionalism, which played a vital role in the constitutionalism in the late Qing Dynasty. Later, with his help, the first Republic in Asia, the Republic of China, was established.