Indigenous innovation is the main strategy for China during 2006 - 20 period. China may hope that indigenous innovation policy will spur on industrial upgrading. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the indigenous innovation policy. The paper begins with the background of the strategy, follows the detailed content of the national strategy, then analyzes how the strategy is implemented. We find that the package of indigenous innovation policy is constructive and efficient for a catch-up economy with clear industry targets but not good for innovation. If China want to be an innovative country, it needs to give market competition more space to incubate and eventually yield increment or disruptive innovation, even radical innovation. Chinese enterprises cannot close themselves off to the global technology system. Only open innovation can give Chinese enterprises the possibility to win in the next wave of innovation in the world and make China an innovative country.