China began to introduce potato resources and improved varieties in a planned way from the late 1930s. From 1934 to 1936, the former Guan Guji of Nanjing Central Agricultural Research Laboratory collected and sorted out local potato varieties in China, and introduced 14 varieties and strains from Britain and the United States, and conducted regional tests in Guizhou and other places, and selected Houma, Sebago and Katadin.

In 1939, Yang Hongzu introduced 66 inbred combinations and 18 hybrid combinations of potato from the United States, and carried out potato hybrid breeding in Sichuan. However, due to the outbreak of late blight that year, almost all the materials were lost. 1940, Yang Hongzu introduced 16 wild potato variety from the former Soviet Union, and began interspecific hybridization breeding with local cultivated varieties and wild species, and obtained dozens of interspecific hybridization combinations, from which several excellent strains were selected.

1942, Dr. T.P.Dyksira from the United States was invited to China to assist in potato improvement, bringing 52 excellent varieties from the United States. 1943, Central Agricultural Laboratory assigned it to Guiyang, Guizhou, Beibei, Sichuan and Shaanxi for adaptability appraisal and evaluation, and selected Houma, Sebaguo and Hongbai from them.

From 1936 to 1945, China has introduced 74 varieties (lines) from Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union and other countries for five times, with 62 hybrid seed combinations, 45 self-bred seeds and 0/6 wild species, and identified Triumph, Catadine and 7 million. Before 1947, Yang Hongzu of Sichuan Workstation of Central Agricultural Laboratory introduced 35 hybrid combinations and intermediate materials from American breeder F.J.Stevenson, and identified and screened Wuxia, Xiao Ye and other varieties for popularization and application, which played a great role in production in 1950s. In the 1940s, the largest potato varieties in China were Sebago, Houma, Hongwaba and Chippewa.