Science, technology and innovation (STI) have been quite pivotal to the transformation of countries. Following this general pattern, STI have been transforming China since late 1970s leading to its emergence as the second largest economy and a robust technology giant. A carefully calibrated STI policy, coupled with its implementation, has facilitated this phenomenon contributing to its recent rise in the international system. However, problems such as lack of development of STI in certain regions and too much of focus on applied and development research leading to the neglect of basic research continue to plague.Currently China has set its vision on emerging as a nation of innovation with a clear focus on strengthening its indigenous STI capabilities by 2020, which will have major implications for both the global and the Indian STI architectures.