Manchus

China was being ruled by the Manchu dynasty from the 17th century. Initially their rule had ushered in prosperity but it was soon accompanied by economic stagnation. This fit in with the cyclical theory of alternate periods of boom and bust, an inherent trait of Confucian philosophy. The Chinese were living in obscurantism with little contact with the West. The Chinese economy was self-sufficient and relatively more prosperous than the West in the 18th century, when the winds of change that would sweep down outdated technology had begun to emerge in Asia.
The Western countries traded with China for tea, silk and other items in exchange for the very little they could offer. They had an adverse balance of trade vis-à-vis China till the latter part of the 18th century, but this trade was very profitable as it became a major source of revenue for the exchequer of the Western nations, and was re-exported all over the world culminating in huge profit. Notwithstanding such success the West had a burning desire to penetrate the vast Chinese market. The product that brought untrammeled success to the British was opium. Opium was grown in British India, packed in countless crates and smuggled into China. This ultimately altered the balance of trade dramatically in favor of the British within a few decades and wreaked havoc on Chinese society as opium had an inelastic demand like salt and food.
Opium resulted in an incessant outflow of Chinese silver to the British and distorted the Chinese domestic silver-copper dual currency resulting in inflation and devaluation of the Chinese currency. The economic, social and human landslide of China finally woke up the rulers who enacted laws to stop the importation of opium. However, these laws were flouted by the British with impunity. Such circumstances eventuated in the outbreak of a major naval conflict between Britain and China, which ended in a humiliating loss for China. Subsequently a debilitating treaty was thrust upon China. This treaty became known as the Treaty of Nanking and became the first of a series of unequal treaties that encroached upon China’s economic sovereignty and reduced imperial China to the status of vassalage.
This is the backdrop in which China survived the major part of the ninth century and the first half of the twentieth century. The enforced agreements crippled the Chinese economy. The major territorial areas of China were still ruled by the Manchus but for practical purposes they were puppets in the hands of their western masters. They had to pay massive tributes to the western nations and were forced to administer policies, which greatly benefited the western countries at the cost of China. Western exports were allowed duty-free into China, including opium. Chinese exports were heavily taxed in the Western nations. China had to seek permission for enacting its domestic policies from the Western powers that often had no interest in seeing China modernize. Besides, Chinese wealth was being swept away by the floods of tumultuous Western currents. Some parts of China were under the direct rule of the Western powers that thoroughly exploited the economy and fostered policies, which solely benefited them.
China had very little scientific, technological and financial muscle to modernize its industries and armed forces. Besides, Chinese society was under the spell of Confucianism, which looked down upon merchant class and had created an atmosphere in which the Chinese mercantile and entrepreneurial spirit was stifled. China was living under a rent-seeking bureaucratic feudal class, which smothered the growth of the merchant community. In the latter half of the ninth century reforms were initiated by the Qing dynasty but was half-hearted and minimal. Western science and technology and manpower were incorporated in the experiment but the Westerners supplied them with obsolete, substandard technology and inferior manpower, which kept Chinese industry and military backward.
On top of that the centrifugal forces periodically manifested themselves in violent movements, which further hurt, the ruling class and the economy.
Ultimately the Qing dynasty was overthrown but it gave way to a period of provincial warlordism, which was marked by stagnation and corruption. This was succeeded by the Kuomintang who was stooges of Western capitalism and followed the Manchus in their obeisance to the Westerners. The Kuomintang’s corruption and brutality further exacerbated the situation. The Western powers had themselves developed very little industry and financial institutions to fuel the economy. Therefore, it can be safely concluded that under Western tutelage China’s development was obstructed.