China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is located in East Asia. It is the second-most populous country globally, with over 1.4 billion people, which constitutes 17% of the world’s population. China shares land borders with fourteen countries and, covering 9.6 million square kilometers, it is the third-largest country by area. Administratively, it comprises 33 province-level divisions, including provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and special administrative regions. Beijing serves as its capital, while Shanghai is its largest city and financial hub.
A Chinese factory adapted to Trump's tariffs and economic uncertainty by adjusting strategies and demonstrating resilience. Beijing's leverage seemingly helped the manufacturing sector rebound despite challenges.
In 1901, the ill-fated anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion further weakened the Qing dynasty.
In 1905, the first Chinese film, Dingjun Mountain, was released.
In 1911, the Xinhai Revolution ended the Qing dynasty in China.
On January 1912, the Republic of China (ROC) was established, and Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang was proclaimed provisional president.
In 1912, Puyi, the last Emperor of China, abdicated, marking the end of the Qing Dynasty.
In 1912, the Qing dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China, came to an end.
In 1915, Yuan Shikai, who was the president, proclaimed himself Emperor of China.
In 1916, after facing condemnation, Yuan Shikai was forced to re-establish the republic, the same year he died.
In 1927, the Chinese Civil War began as Kuomintang forces purged members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
In 1927, the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek violently suppressed the CCP and other leftists in Shanghai, marking the beginning of the Chinese Civil War.
In 1931, Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria, marking a significant escalation of tensions in the region.
China first participated in the Olympic Games in 1932.
In 1934, CCP forces in Jiangxi were wiped out by the Nationalist government, leading the CCP to initiate the Long March and relocate to Yan'an in Shaanxi.
In 1937, Japan invaded other parts of China, initiating the Second Sino-Japanese War, which became a theater of World War II.
In 1945, after the surrender of Japan, China emerged victorious but war-ravaged and financially drained.
In 1946, fighting between CCP and KMT forces broke out, and the country resumed a state of civil war that lasted more than three years.
In 1947, constitutional rule was established in China, but due to the ongoing war, many provisions of the ROC constitution were never implemented in mainland China.
On October 1949, CCP Chairman Mao Zedong formally proclaimed the People's Republic of China.
According to China's government, the forest coverage of the country grew from 10% of the overall territory in 1949 to 25% in 2024.
After the Communists came to power in 1949, efforts were made to organize science and technology based on the model of the Soviet Union, in which scientific research was part of central planning.
In 1949, China adopted a single national time zone, China Standard Time (UTC+8).
In 1949, China's literacy rate was only 20%.
In 1949, major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended, leading to a new political landscape.
In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) proclaimed the People's Republic of China and forced the Kuomintang-led government to retreat to Taiwan.
Since 1949, China has been a unitary communist state with the CCP as its sole ruling party.
When the PRC was founded in 1949, per capita income in China was one-fifth of the world average.
In 1950, the PRC captured Hainan from the ROC and annexed Tibet, expanding its territorial control.
In 1952, China participated as the PRC in the Olympic Games.
In 1953, males accounted for 51.8% of the population.
In 1958, archaeologists discovered sites belonging to the Erlitou culture, which existed during the early Bronze Age.
The Chinese space program started in 1958 with some technology transfers from the Soviet Union.
In 1959, the Great Leap Forward, a massive industrialization project, began and resulted in an estimated 15 to 55 million deaths between 1959 and 1961, mostly from starvation.
In 1961, the Great Leap Forward ended, estimated to have caused between 15 to 55 million deaths mostly from starvation during the years 1959 and 1961.
The population of China fell in 1961, before the decline from 2021 to 2022.
In 1964, China detonated its first atomic bomb, marking its entry into the nuclear age.
In 1966, Mao and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution, sparking a decade of political recrimination and social upheaval.
China launched the nation's first satellite in 1970 with the Dong Fang Hong I, which made China the fifth country to do so independently.
Most countries have switched recognition from the ROC to the PRC since the latter replaced the former in the UN in 1971.
In 1974, The Chinese population increased from 550 million in 1950 to 900 million.
After Mao's death in 1976, science and technology were promoted as one of the Four Modernizations, and the Soviet-inspired academic system was gradually reformed.
In 1976, Mao Zedong died, marking the end of the Cultural Revolution.
In 1976, the Cultural Revolution ended, which was followed by a rise in Chinese nationalism and a revival of traditional Chinese arts and culture.
After Deng Xiaoping began instituting economic reforms in 1978, the health of the Chinese public improved rapidly.
Between 1978 and 2018, China reduced extreme poverty by 800 million, with the average standard of living multiplying by a factor of twenty-six.
In 1978, China began the reform and opening up, moving the country away from a planned economy towards a market-based economy.
In 1978, Deng Xiaoping took power and started the reform and opening up, instituting large-scale political and economic reforms.
Since economic reforms began in 1978, China has developed into a highly diversified economy and one of the most consequential players in international trade.
Since the introduction of the reform and opening up policy in 1978, China's economic growth has been almost consistently above 5 percent. According to the World Bank, China's GDP grew from $150 billion in 1978.
In 1979, China began to advocate for a strict limit of one child per family.
In 1979, China's literacy rate was 65.5%.
In 1980, the percent of China's population living in urban areas was 20%.
On December 1982, China adopted its current constitution.
In 1989, a movement for political liberalization in China stalled after the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.
From 1990 to 2018, the proportion of the Chinese population living with an income of less than $1.90 per day (2011 PPP) decreased from 66.3% to 0.3%, the share living with an income of less than $3.20 per day from 90.0% to 2.9%, and the share living with an income of less than $5.50 per day decreased from 98.3% to 17.0%.
In 1990, China hosted the Asian Games in Beijing.
In 1990, China's air travel industry saw 16.6 million passengers.
In 1990, Rates of stunting was 33.1%.
In 1997, British Hong Kong returned to China as a special administrative region.
In 1999, Portuguese Macau returned to China as a special administrative region.
Since 2000, rapid transit systems in Chinese cities have experienced accelerated growth.
China has been a member of the World Trade Organization since 2001.
A Harvard University survey published in July 2020 found that citizen satisfaction with the government had increased since 2003, also rating China's government as more effective and capable than ever in the survey's history.
In 2003, China became the third country in the world to independently send humans into space with Yang Liwei's spaceflight aboard Shenzhou 5.
In 2003, China experienced a serious disease outbreak, SARS, although this has since been largely contained.
In 2003, China's annual education investment was less than US$50 billion.
On December 12, 2006, the Baiji was confirmed extinct.
The Laogai Research Foundation estimated in June 2008 that there were nearly 1,422 reform through labor (laogai) facilities.
China hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and its athletes received the highest number of gold medals, with 48.
In 2009, the Chinese government began a three-year large-scale healthcare provision initiative worth US$124 billion.
Between 2010 and 2020, the average population growth rate in China was 0.53%.
China has been the world's largest manufacturing nation since 2010, after overtaking the U.S.
In 2010, China hosted the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
In 2010, China's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan was received by the Convention on Biological Diversity.
In 2010, there was an inequality in education spending. The annual education expenditure per secondary school student in Beijing totalled ¥20,023, while in Guizhou, one of the poorest provinces, it only totalled ¥3,204.
In 2023, Harvard University's Economic Complexity Index ranked complexity of China's exports 16th in the world, up from 24th in 2010.
By 2011, the healthcare provision initiative resulted in 95% of China's population having basic health insurance coverage.
From 1990 to 2018, the proportion of the Chinese population living with an income of less than $1.90 per day (2011 PPP) decreased from 66.3% to 0.3%.
In 2011, China launched its first space station testbed, Tiangong-1.
In 2011, Shenzhen hosted the Summer Universiade.
On November 15, 2012, Xi Jinping took office as the general secretary.
As of 2012, there were an estimated 470 million bicycles in China.
China's BeiDou satellite navigation system began offering commercial navigation services across Asia in 2012.
In 2012, China won the most medals at the Summer Paralympics, with 231 overall, including 95 gold.
In 2012, Mo Yan, a xungen literature author, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
In 2012, Xi Jinping succeeded Hu as paramount leader in China.
In December 2013, China allowed families to have two children if one parent was an only child.
China became the world's largest trading nation in 2013 by the sum of imports and exports.
China hosted the 2013 East Asian Games in Tianjin.
In 2013, China initiated the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a large global infrastructure building initiative.
In 2013, a Chinese robotic rover Yutu successfully touched down on the lunar surface as part of the Chang'e 3 mission.
In 2013, the state-imposed re-education through labor (laojiao) system was formally abolished.
In 2025, China was ranked 10th in the Global Innovation Index, a considerable improvement from its rank of 35th in 2013.
In 2014, China hosted the Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, becoming the first country to host both regular and Youth Olympics.
According to the Joint Monitoring Program, 77% of rural households in China had access to basic sanitation in 2015.
China has had the world's largest middle-class population since 2015.
From the mid-1980s to 2015, China had a "1.5"-child policy with some major exemptions.
By 2016, China was the largest trading partner of 124 countries.
In 2016, China had the largest number of movie screens in the world.
In 2016, China's academic publication apparatus became the world's largest publisher of scientific papers.
In 2016, China's one-child policy was replaced in favor of a two-child policy.
The Global Slavery Index estimated that in 2016 more than 3.8 million people (0.25% of the population) were living in "conditions of modern slavery".
By 2017, China produced around 40 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients.
In 2017 and 2020, the Pew Research Center ranked the severity of Chinese government restrictions on religion as being among the world's highest.
In 2017, China's air travel industry saw 551.2 million passengers.
Since 2017, the Chinese government has been engaged in a harsh crackdown in Xinjiang, with around one million Uyghurs and other ethnic and religion minorities being detained in internment camps.
According to the World Intellectual Property Indicators, China received more patent applications than the U.S. did in 2018.
Between 1978 and 2018, China reduced extreme poverty by 800 million, with the average standard of living multiplying by a factor of twenty-six.
By 2018, China had more than 1 billion 4G users, accounting for 40% of world's total.
In 2018, Air China, China Southern Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines collectively made up 71% of the airline market in China.
In 2018, China was the fourth-most-visited country in the world.
In December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic was first identified in Wuhan.
According to the World Intellectual Property Indicators, China received more applications than the U.S. did in 2019 and ranked first globally in patents.
As of 2019, the country has over 2,750 nature reserves, covering a total area of 1,470,000 km (570,000 sq mi), 15 percent of China's total land area.
In 2019, China became the first country to land a probe—Chang'e 4—on the far side of the Moon.
In 2019, China overtook the U.S. as the home to the highest number of people who have a net personal wealth of at least $110,000, according to Credit Suisse.
In 2019, China received 65.7 million international visitors and Chinese tourists made an estimated 6 billion travels within the country.
As of April 2020, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) included 138 countries and 30 international organizations.
A Harvard University survey published in July 2020 found that citizen satisfaction with the government had increased since 2003, also rating China's government as more effective and capable than ever in the survey's history.
As of October 2020, China has three out of the ten largest stock exchanges in the world.
According to the 2020 census, ethnic minorities account for less than 10% of the population of China.
As of 2020, China had the five longest metro systems in the world located in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Shenzhen.
In 2017 and 2020, the Pew Research Center ranked the severity of Chinese government restrictions on religion as being among the world's highest.
In 2020, Chang'e 5 successfully returned Moon samples to the Earth, making China the third country to do so independently.
In 2020, China became the largest cinema market, with domestic movies dominating the market.
In 2020, China's annual education investment was more than US$817 billion. Also the literacy rate was 97% of the population over age 15.
In 2020, the Chinese government announced its aims for the country to reach its peak emissions levels before 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
The 2020 Chinese census recorded the population as approximately 1,411,778,724.
The Chinese authorities have cracked down on dissent in Hong Kong, especially after the passage of a national security law in 2020.
The figures in the table below are from the 2020 census, and are only estimates of the urban populations within administrative city limits.
China had 85 female billionaires as of January 2021, which was two-thirds of the global total.
In May 2021, a three-child policy was announced in China due to population aging.
In July 2021, all family size limits and penalties for exceeding them were removed in China.
According to the United Nations, China's urbanization rate peaked in absolute numbers in 2021 at 83.7 percent.
China ranked first globally in patents, utility models, trademarks, industrial designs, and creative goods exports in 2021.
From 2021 to 2022, the National Bureau of Statistics estimated that the population in China fell by 850,000.
In 2021, 12 percent of global permanent meadows and pastures belonged to China, as well as 8% of global cropland.
In 2021, China became the third country to land a spacecraft on Mars and the second one to deploy a rover (Zhurong) on Mars.
In 2021, China leads the world in e-commerce, accounting for over 37% of the global market share.
In 2021, The Battle at Lake Changjin was released.
China completed its own modular space station, the Tiangong, in low Earth orbit on 3 November 2022. On 29 November 2022, China performed its first in-orbit crew handover aboard the Tiangong.
In December 2022, China abandoned its zero-COVID policy following protests.
According to the Joint Monitoring Program, 93% of rural households in China had access to basic sanitation in 2022.
According to the World Values Survey (2022), 91% of Chinese respondents have significant confidence in their government.
As of 2022, China accounts for around 18% of the global economy by nominal GDP.
By 2022, China had established itself as a key producer and exporter of pharmaceuticals.
In 2022, Beijing and Zhangjiakou collaboratively hosted the Winter Olympics, making Beijing the first dual Olympic city by holding both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
In 2022, China invested $546 billion in renewable energy and its commercialization and was the largest importer of Russian crude oil next to India.
In 2022, China was amongst the world's largest recipient of inward foreign direct investment (FDI), attracting $180 billion.
In 2022, during Xi Jinping's tenure, the anti-corruption crackdown prosecuted more than 2 million officials.
Since 2022, deaths have outpaced births in China.
As of February 2023, China has over 1.7 billion cellphone subscribers.
In May 2023, China announced a plan to land humans on the Moon by 2030.
As of December 2023, 55 Chinese cities had urban mass transit systems in operation.
As of December 2023, China had over 810 million 5G users and 3.38 million base stations installed.
As of 2023, China granted permanent residence to around 12,000 foreigners.
As of 2023, eighteen Chinese nationals have journeyed into space, including two women.
As of 2023, the infant mortality rate in China is 5 per thousand.
As of 2023, the renminbi is the world's fourth-most traded currency.
China invested abroad, with a total outward FDI of $147.9 billion in 2023.
China's Gini coefficient was 0.37 in 2023.
In 2023, China hosted the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
In 2023, according to surveys done by Pew Research, 93% of respondents were formally unaffiliated with any religion.
China's foreign exchange reserves reached US$3.246 trillion as of March 2024.
China sent Chang'e 6 on 3 May 2024, which conducted the first lunar sample return from Apollo Basin on the far side of the Moon. It also carried a Chinese rover called Jinchan to conduct infrared spectroscopy of lunar surface and imaged Chang'e 6 lander on lunar surface.
According to China's government, the forest coverage of the country grew from 10% of the overall territory in 1949 to 25% in 2024.
According to the World Bank, China's GDP grew from $150 billion in 1978 to $18.74 trillion by 2024.
As of 2024 China had 18 megacities, cities with a population of over 10 million.
As of 2024, China had over 3,167 universities, with over 47.6 million students enrolled.
As of 2024, China has the largest diplomatic networks of any country in the world.
As of 2024, China has the largest education system in the world, with about 287 million students and 18.85 million full-time teachers in over 470,300 schools.
As of 2024, the life expectancy at birth in China exceeds 79 years, and the rate of stunting has declined from 33.1% in 1990 to 4.5%.
China has three out of the world's ten most competitive financial centers according to the 2024 Global Financial Centres Index.
China is the world's largest exporter of cars by number as of 2024.
China's middle-class grew to 500 million by 2024.
China's official military budget for 2024 totalled US$229 billion (1.67 trillion Yuan), the second-largest in the world.
In 2024, 58.2% of China's electricity came from coal, 13.5% from hydroelectric power, 9.8% from wind, 8.3% from solar energy, 4.4% from nuclear energy, 3% from natural gas, and 2.1% from bioenergy; in total, 38% of China's energy came from clean energy sources.
In 2024, 90.4% of China's national surface water was graded suitable for human consumption by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
In 2024, China was ranked at 145th out of 167 countries as an "authoritarian regime" by the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index.
In 2024, about 92.0 percent of students continued their education at a three-year senior secondary school, while 60.8 percent of secondary school graduates were enrolled in higher education.
In March 2025, Forbes estimated China ranked second in the world, after the U.S., in total number of billionaires, with 516 Chinese billionaires.
As of December 2025, China has over 1.125 billion Internet users, which is equivalent to around 80.1% of its population.
Around 57 million private businesses were recorded in China in 2025, contributing to over 60% of China's GDP.
As of 2025, China had 165,000 km of railways, the second-longest network in the world, and 50,400 kilometers of high-speed rail lines, the longest HSR network globally.
As of 2025, China had the world's highest number of top universities.
As of 2025, Ne Zha 2 (2025) was the highest-grossing film in China, and in the same year, China's video game market was the world's largest by revenue.
China was ranked 10th in the Global Innovation Index in 2025, a considerable improvement from its rank of 35th in 2013.
In 2025, the percent of China's population living in urban areas was over 68%.
In 2020, the Chinese government announced its aims for the country to reach its peak emissions levels before 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
In May 2023, China announced a plan to land humans on the Moon by 2030.
According to academics, in 2045, to limit climate change in China to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F), electricity generation from coal in China without carbon capture must be phased out.
In 2020, the Chinese government announced its aims for the country to reach its peak emissions levels before 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
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