Improving the efficiency of China's regional economy is inseparable from the development of regional economic theory. The article periodizes European regional economic theories and analyzes in detail the role of the traditional theory of location, the theory of regional economic development and the theory of new economic geography. It has been proven that the European scientific school had the strongest influence on the formation and development of the Chinese theory of regional economics. A periodization of the development of the theory of regional economics in China has been carried out. Four periods are identified and studied: the period of the theory of balanced development of regional plans (1949–1977); the period of the theory of unbalanced development of the regional economy (1978–1999); period of development of the theory of coordinated regional economic development (2000–2011); a period of high-quality regional economic development (from 2012 to the present). The formation and development of Western and Chinese regional economic theories are separately outlined, their comparative characteristics are carried out from the point of view of research perspective, research paradigm, research content and development model.