This paper takes a new Schumpeterian economics approach in examining firm-level technological catch-up strategies in China. We focus on the strategies for learning and gaining access to foreign knowledge base. We also underline unique Chinese features, including forward engineering (i.e., the role of university spin-off firms) in contrast to reverse engineering, acquisition of technology and brands through international M&A, and parallel learning from FDI to promote indigenous companies. These features comprise the Beijing model because they were explicitly adopted by neither Korea nor Taiwan. At the macro and aggregate levels, we find that China follows the "East Asian sequencing" rather than the Washington Consensus. We also discuss several challenges facing China, such as design capabilities and localization of intermediate parts. We conclude that the Chinese industry will not remain a low-end original equipment manufacturer (OEM) economy but will rise to the level of high-end or brand producers.