The carmaker Beijing Jeep, a joint venture with a foreign partner, opened in January 1984. At that time, Rao Bin, vice minister of the First Ministry of Machine Building, put forward the formula 以市场换技术, “trade the market for technology.” Foreign carmakers would gain access to Chinese buyers, and China would gain their technology.
In April 2018, a Xinhua commentary drew a lesson: “Historical experience shows that the market cannot buy real core technology.”