12th Five-Year Plan approved

China’s State Council announced a large stimulus package in response to the global financial crisis, emphasizing infrastructure, housing, and domestic demand. The response supported global recovery...

Chinese naval vessels departed to protect commercial shipping from piracy off Somalia. The deployment extended China’s military presence beyond East Asia and was presented as an international...

Violence broke out in Urumqi after a protest by Uyghurs over an earlier factory incident. The unrest and state response exposed ethnic tensions, grievances over security and development, and the...

The free trade area entered into force for China and six founding ASEAN members, lowering tariffs across much of their trade. It deepened regional supply chains and South-South economic links, while...

The Expo opened under the theme “Better City, Better Life,” presenting China as a capable host and an urban-development model. Its global spectacle coincided with the displacement and redevelopment...

China launched its first space laboratory module, a step toward developing a permanent crewed space station. The program built independent technological capacity after exclusion from the International...

The Liaoning entered service as the PRC’s first aircraft carrier. Its commissioning signaled a new phase in naval modernization and power projection, although the carrier’s operational capability...

The 18th Party Congress opened in Beijing and began a leadership transition that brought Xi Jinping to the party’s top post. The congress’s report addressed growth, reform, social development and...

The 18th Party Congress installed Xi as the Party’s general secretary and chairman of the Central Military Commission. This succession began a more centralized leadership period that reshaped domestic...

Chinese customs figures for 2012 showed that the value of its goods trade had surpassed that of the United States. The milestone reflected decades of export-led industrialization and global...