China was insulated from the scientific and industrial revolutions occurring in Europe because of itself impose isolation; as a result, the West surged ahead of China while China began its slow decline.
Thousands of years of isolation led to social, political and economic stagnation completely isolated China from the pivotal developments in Europe most notably the scientific and industrial revolution that occurred in the 18th and 19th Century respectively. China's technological and economic supremacy compared to the rest of the world no longer held its position.