First Belt and Road Forum opens in Beijing

China hosted the G20 leaders’ summit, placing it at the center of debates about global growth, trade, development, and climate. Hosting signaled an expanded role in global governance, though the G20’s...

The renminbi became the fifth currency in the IMF’s reserve asset basket, alongside the US dollar, euro, yen, and pound. The change symbolized China’s growing role in the monetary system but did not...

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the Cybersecurity Law, which took effect in June 2017. It set obligations for network operators, data handling and state oversight. The...

Xi Jinping delivered a prominent defense of economic globalization as political leaders elsewhere questioned free trade. His speech positioned China as a defender of multilateral trade in that moment,...

The domestically developed narrow-body aircraft completed its first flight from Shanghai. The C919 represented an effort to enter a global aerospace market long dominated by Boeing and Airbus,...

Panama and the PRC established diplomatic relations, and Panama ended its formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The switch reflected Panama’s economic and diplomatic calculations as China’s global...

China formally opened a logistics support base near Djibouti’s port and key shipping routes. Beijing described it as supporting peacekeeping and anti-piracy operations; analysts also viewed it as a...

The ninth BRICS summit met in Xiamen, with China hosting Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. Leaders discussed global economic governance, development and cooperation among emerging economies....

The National People’s Congress adopted a constitutional amendment removing the two-term limit for the state presidency. The change consolidated Xi Jinping’s authority and drew international...

The United States imposed tariffs on Chinese imports and China retaliated, beginning a major phase of the trade conflict. The dispute exposed how deeply production networks had become interdependent...