Beying’s Visible Hand: Strategic Industry Selection in Chinese Industrial Policy

This thesis examines how Beijing selects industries for strategic support within Chinese Industrial Policy and argues that China's industry selection follows a clear and structured logic. Drawing on Central Government plans, ministry-level policy documents, and secondary scholarship, this paper analyzes three case studies-semiconductors, electric vehicles, and solar photovoltaics-to identify the criteria that shape state policy. It argues that Beijing tends to support industries that satisfy two main conditions: first, they increase China's self-sufficiency by reducing dependence in areas tied to national or energy security; second, they address domestic structural weaknesses while leveraging China's existing strengths in manufacturing scale and supply-chain depth. Across the three case studies, this thesis also shows China follows a clear policymaking arc: the state identifies vulnerability, directs support towards domestic production, often generates overcapacity, and seeks to convert that scale into export expansion. By showing how these patterns recur across various sectors at different stages of development, the thesis provides a framework to understanding Beijing's otherwise opaque policy-making process and offers a basis for anticipating which industries China is likely to prioritize next.