Constitution amended to protect private property

The World Health Organization issued a global alert after cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome appeared across several countries. The outbreak tested China’s public-health transparency and...

The mainland and Hong Kong governments signed the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement, reducing trade barriers and expanding economic integration. The agreement responded to Hong Kong’s economic...

A mass march in Hong Kong opposed proposed national-security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law and voiced broader dissatisfaction with governance. Estimates of turnout differed...

The World Health Organization announced that the last known chain of person-to-person SARS transmission had been interrupted. SARS began in southern China and became a transnational health crisis; the...

Yang Liwei launched aboard Shenzhou 5, making China the third country to independently send a human into space. The mission signaled technological and industrial capabilities associated with a...

The National People’s Congress adopted a law setting out the PRC’s position on preventing Taiwanese independence and authorizing “non-peaceful means” under specified conditions. Beijing framed it as a...

The People’s Bank of China moved from a strict US dollar peg toward a managed floating exchange-rate regime referencing a basket of currencies, and revalued the renminbi. The step responded to...

Chinese and Russian forces conducted a large joint exercise, with participation by other Shanghai Cooperation Organization states. It demonstrated expanding military cooperation and regional...

China launched Shenzhou VI, its first crewed mission carrying two astronauts and its first multi-day human spaceflight. The mission demonstrated advances in engineering and state capacity. Space...

The 1958 Agricultural Tax Regulations were annulled effective January 1, ending the agricultural tax nationwide after phased reductions. The measure shifted the state’s fiscal relationship with...