 By the mid to late 19th century, China began losing its global economic edge as the European colonial powers and Japan were rapidly modernizing and industrializing.A number of factors such as contributed to China's stagnation behind Europe and Japan such as bureaucractic centralization that impeded innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship, a sense of ethnic and cultural superiority, and preference of civilization continuity and resistance to modern change and technology.After 1750, driven by a modern innovation called the steam engine gave birth to the first Industrial Revolution.