Up until the late 1980's, China's primary opponent was the Soviet Union. The concern at the time was how to stop Soviet armor divisions from overwhelming northern China, thus the "People's War" doctrine was maintained. The planners had hoped that by having massive number of troops and crew-served weapons, it would force the Soviets into a war of attrition. The First Gulf War was the first glimpse of modern warfare for the PLA, which made them realized the importance of air power. However, most people high in PLA ranks was resistant to such an evolution, believing planes to be expensive toys which money could be better spent on ground forces. By late 1990's, the older generation of commanders were starting to retire and modernization was again sped up by outside events (NATO Serbia campaign).
The jump start for the navy began even later and one of the biggest catalyst was 1996 Taiwan crisis. The heads of the military realized Americans could sail their carrier battle groups right up to China's main ports and there was little they could do. At that time, most ships in the navy was composed of designs from the 1960's and were severely outdated. Of course, China's relative isolation in the international stage and limited economy at the time also limited development. However, most new platforms you see today were initiated during that period when Jiang Zemin was in power. Those programs started to accelerate due to greater access to technology and government spending after 2000.
Realistically speaking, China's doctrine change occured only 20 years ago, from an infantry-centric land force to a more balanced approach. Compared to traditional naval powers such as United States, Britain and Japan, that's only the blink of an eye. You don't development a blue water navy overnight just be throwing money at it. It takes years, sometimes decades, to refine your training, tactics and strategy on how to properly deploy those assets. For example, Type 052C destroyer entered service in 2004, but it was not until 2007 that full operational capability was developed. That was three years for a single destroyer. Varyag and any subsequent carriers that follow will only be more complicated.
