The debate of “ancientness and modernness” “China and the West” have been a crucial issue since modern China. Its essence lies in advancing the modernization of thought to explore a modernization path that is both distinctly indigenous and aligned with historical trends. In the context of the new era, this issue has received more and more attention. Existing research mostly focuses on fields such as philosophy and history, while lacking an investigation based on economics, especially the history of economic thought. This disparity does not align with China’s profound traditional economic thought and ongoing theoretical innovations in economics.

This paper focuses on the interpretation of mercantilism in modern China and examines how intellectuals of that time sought solutions to the debate of “ancientness and modernness” “China and the West”. The findings are as follows: (1) The debate of “China and the West” manifests as practical differences between mercantilism and mercantilism-like thoughts in China’s pre-modern society. After clarifying the concept, Chinese scholars explored the similarities and differences between the two by interpreting the West through the lens of China and vice versa. (2) The debate of “ancientness and modernness” manifests in mercantilism being regarded as an outdated doctrine and thus disconnected from Chinese modernization practices. Chinese scholars reconstructed the continuity of mercantilism in both ideological and practical dimensions, revealing its referential value. (3) Based on Historical Materialism, Marxist economic theory and its paradigms point out the historical progress and limitations of mercantilism, providing Chinese academia with a new perspective for understanding the debate.

The contributions of this paper are as follows: First, it summarizes the approaches, experiences, and limitations of modern China in resolving the debate of “ancientness and modernness” “China and the West”, providing historical lessons for the present. Second, it specifically examines the significant impact of Marxist theory, demonstrating the value of the “second combination” and highlighting the autonomy and continuity of Chinese economic thought. Third, focusing on the interpretation of mercantilism in modern China, it illustrates the integration of Western economic theories, indigenous traditions, and practical needs, laying a foundation for constructing China’s independent economic knowledge system.