Abstract: Agricultural mechanization in China’s hilly and mountainous regions constitutes the most critical bottleneck and poses a formidable challenge to the advancement of agricultural mechanization and modernization at the national scale. Addressing this complex issue necessitates a multidimensional and context-specific strategy that aligns with the distinct geographical, economic, and historical conditions of Chinese agriculture. Such a strategy requires a profound understanding of the historical evolution of agricultural development in China, as well as the integration of mechanization challenges within broader frameworks of agricultural and national modernization. This requires systematic and forward-thinking planning grounded in the core principles and historical logic of agricultural modernization. This paper systematically analyzes the core principles and historical logic of agricultural modernization, the industrial and technological backdrop of China's hilly and mountainous regions, and the constraints hindering agricultural mechanization in these areas. Based on this analysis, it proposes strategies and research priorities for advancing agricultural mechanization in China's hilly and mountainous regions. The findings are intended to inform macro-level policy decisions and offer actionable insights for technological innovation to expedite agricultural mechanization in these regions. This paper draws the following conclusions: (1) The development of agricultural mechanization in hilly and mountainous areas of China is of strategic significance for ensuring national food security and promoting agricultural industry upgrading. However, due to many factors such as natural constraints, poor technical adaptability, weak research and development strength and insufficient financial support, its development process is slow and faces major challenges. (2) The development of agricultural modernization must follow its inherent laws and historical logic. The development of agricultural mechanization in hilly and mountainous areas must be supported by policies and science and technology, and the four elements of production conditions, organization and management, production technology and professional farmers should be promoted in a coordinated manner, so as to promote China's agricultural mechanization to a high quality and efficient, full process and comprehensive progress. (3) The development of agricultural mechanization in hilly and mountainous areas of China is restricted by both natural conditions and social and economic conditions. It is necessary to achieve sustainable and healthy development of agricultural mechanization in hilly and mountainous areas through top-level design and systematic planning, local conditions and independent innovation, multi-factor coordination and orderly promotion, policy support and responsibility implementation. (4) In view of the main difficulties of agricultural mechanization in China's hilly and mountainous areas, the research and development of agricultural mechanization technology and equipment in hilly and mountainous areas should focus on fast and convenient transfer technology, lightweight and versatile power chassis technology, light and efficient mechanized operation technology, production information technology in hilly and mountainous areas, deep integration technology of agricultural machinery and agriculture, technical model and service system research, etc.