At the beginning of the Westernization Movement, the slogan was "Learn from foreigners to strengthen ourselves", and later it was called "Rich Country Qiang Bing". They got the support of Prince Yixin in the central government, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Zhidong and other ministers in local governments, practiced the new army and started a new study. During this period, they founded many industries, such as Kailuan Coal Mine (later occupied by the Japanese army), Hanyang Military Factory (imitation of German muskets, known as "made in Hanyang" in China), Jiangnan Manufacturing General Administration (predecessor of Jiangnan Shipyard) and so on.

However, due to the interference of Chinese and foreign reactionary forces and their own business failures, these industries often operate at a loss. However, it is undeniable that these industries have trained a large number of technical talents for China, contributed to the development of productive forces, and reduced the dependence on foreign countries to some extent.