Hong Kong transferred to Chinese sovereignty

A new tax system divided revenue between central and local governments and strengthened central fiscal capacity. It helped finance national infrastructure and state functions, while intensifying local...

The PRC launched missile tests near Taiwan during a period of political tension ahead of Taiwan’s first direct presidential election. The crisis brought US carrier deployments and exposed the risk...

The UN conference brought governments and a large international civil-society forum to Beijing. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action became a major global gender-equality framework; the...

Voters elected Taiwan’s president directly for the first time, choosing Lee Teng-hui. The election consolidated democratic legitimacy rooted in Taiwan’s electorate and took place amid military...

China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan signed an agreement on military confidence-building in border areas. This was an early step toward the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and...

US President Bill Clinton met Chinese President Jiang Zemin during a state visit, addressing Taiwan, trade, human rights, and strategic relations. The meeting reflected efforts to manage an...

NATO aircraft struck the Chinese embassy during the Kosovo war, killing three Chinese journalists and injuring staff. NATO described the bombing as a targeting error; China condemned it as a serious...

The United States and China reached a bilateral market-access agreement that cleared a major step toward China’s WTO accession. The agreement followed years of negotiation and required China to accept...

Portugal transferred administration of Macau to China under a high-autonomy arrangement. The event completed the transfer of the last major European colonial possession on the Chinese coast, while...

China and African states launched FOCAC as a multilateral platform for political and economic cooperation. The forum institutionalized South-South engagement, while raising questions about African...