People's Republic of China Timeline

Year	Events in China	International Relations
1949	October 1st: Founding of the People's Republic by Chairman Mao Mao goes to Moscow	NATO founded
1950	Marriage Law promulgated People's Liberation Army enters Tibet Agrarian Reform Law	Sino-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance Nationalists establish government on Taiwan Britain recognises PRC
1951	'Three-Antis' Campaign	Chinese forces enter the Korean War
1952	'Five-Anti's' Campaign Democratic reforms and nationalisation of private industry completed
1953	First Five-Year Plan egins Population census Campaign to introduce co-operatives State monopoly of grain trade set up	Death of Stalin Armistice in Korea
1954	First National People's Congress	Geneva Conference on Indochina Khrushchev visits China Defence Pact between Taiwan and USA
1955		Warsaw Pact founded Bandung Conference
1956	Collective farms introduced Eighth Party Congress Hundred Flowers Campaign begins	Khrushchev denounces Stalin Hungarian Uprising
1957	Open criticism of Communist Party at Beijing University Anti-Rightist Campaign	Sino-Soviet nuclear agreement Mao visits Moscow
1958	Second Five-Year Plan First People's Communes Great Leap Forward launched People's Militia established	Khrushchev visits Beijing
1959	Tibetan uprising Second National People's Congress Liu Shaoqi becomes President of China Lushan Conference Peng Dehuai dismissed for criticising Great Leap	Khrushchev visits Beijing
1960	Severe food shortages begin	Soviet technicians withdraw
1961	Reversal of Great Leap policies
1962	Border war with India	U.S./Cuba missile crisis
1963	Socialist Education Movement 'Learn from Lei Feng' Campaign	Exchange of hostile letters with USSR
1964	'Learn from PLA' Campaign Third National People's Congress	China tests a nuclear bomb France recognises PRC
1965	All army ranks abolished Dazhai hailed as model brigade for agriculture Daqing hailed as model brigade for industry
1966	Third Five Year Plan begins May 16th Directive First Cultural Revolution posters Red Guards formed Schools and Colleges closed
1967	First Revolutionary Committees set up Serious clashes in Wushan PLA restores order Deng Xiaoping sent to cadre school in Hebei
1968	Liu Shaoqi expelled from the Party Call for Educated Youths to go to the countryside	USSR invades Czechoslovakia
1969	Ninth Party Congress Lin Biao named as Mao's successor Death of Liu Shaoqi	Clashes with USSR on the Ussuri River
1970		Nixon invited to China
1971	Lin Biao tries to assassinate Mao Lin Biao dies in a plane crash	Ping-pong diplomacy China joins United nations
1972		Nixon visits China
1973	Deng Xiaoping returns to power 'Criticise Lin Biao and Confucius' Campaign Tenth Party Congress
1974		Edward Heath visits China
1975	Fourth National People's Congress	Death of Chiang Kaishek
1976	Death of Zhou Enlai Hua Guofeng becomes Premier Tiananmen riot Deng Xiaoping stripped of all his posts Death of Zhu De Death of Mao Hua Guofeng becomes Chairman
1977	Gang of Four arrested Deng Xiaoping returns to power Eleventh Party Congress
1978	Fifth National People's Congress First open criticism of Mao Posters appear on Democracy Wall Third Plenum of the Party Congress proposes economic and political reforms	Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship
1979	Deng Xiaoping proposes four principles Special Economic Zones proposed One-Child policy introduced Responsibility system introduced into agriculture	Diplomatic relations between China and US Border War with Vietnam
1980	New Marriage Law Hu Yaobang becomes General Secretary Memorial service for Liu Shaoqi Zhao Ziyang replaces Hua as Premier Trial of the Gang of Four begins
1981	Sixth Five-Year Plan begins Hua steps down as Party Chairman
1982	Population census Twelfth Party Congress: New Party Constitution New State Constitution
1983	Sixth National People's Congress Deng's Selected Works published Campaign against 'Spiritual Pollution' 84 Managerial responsibility system in industry
1984	Managerial responsibility system in industry 'Open Cities' announced	President Reagan visits China Sino-British accord on Hong Kong
1985	Reforms of education system promulgated Decision to reduce PLA by one million Anti-Japanese demonstrations
1986	Seventh Five-Year Plan begins Student demonstrations	HM The Queen visits China
1987	Resignation of Hu Yaobang Campaign against 'bourgeois liberalism' Deng resigns from Politburo Thirteenth Party Congress	Sino-Portuguese accord on Macao
1988	Li Peng becomes Premier Zhao Ziyang becomes General Secretary Seventh National People's Congress Riots in Tibet Martial law declared in Lhasa
1989	Death of Hu Yaobang Student demonstrations: martial law declared in Beijing Soviet and Chinese party relations restored Massacre in Tiananmen Square Zhao Ziyang stripped of party and state posts Japan withholds loans Jiang Zemin elected General Secretary	Gorbachev visits China.

© Copyright Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) 2006 : an extract from SACU's magazine China Now 131, Page 89, September 1989