People's Republic of China

On October 1st, 1949, 300,000 Chinese gathered at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing to hold the grand ceremony for the funding of People's Republic of China. The Chairman of P.R.C., Mao Zedong, solemnly declared that "The People's Republic of China now is founded".

In the early stage, Chinese government successfully carried out the Land Reform Movement all over China whose rural population was over 90%. 300,000 Chinese peasants received about 47 million hectares of farmland in total. From 1953 to 1957 the first Five-year Plan was implemented and completed with a great result. The annual increase of national income on average reached over 8.9%; a series of fundamental industries, which were in great need by national industrialization, were set up gradually. These industries included airplane and automobile manufacturing, heavy and accurate machine building, electricity-production equipment manufacturing, metallurgy and mining equipment manufacturing, as well as smelting of quality alloy steel and colored metal, etc.

Years from 1957 to 1966 witnessed the large-scale socialist development of China. Compared with that in 1956, the fixed asset of industry nation widely rose by three times on the basis of the original price of materials; national income registered a 58% increase according to the comparable price; the quantity of major industrials products climbed by several or even tens of times; the fundamental development of agriculture and technological improvement were carried out in a large scale. Form May, 1966 to October, 1976, China experienced the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution lasting ten years. The whole nation suffered the most serious setback on economic development and social life since the founding of P.R.C.

On October, 1976, the Counter-revolutionary Group headed by Jing Qing and Lin Biao was crushed, bring an end to the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. China then entered a new historical stage. The position of Comrade Deng Xiaoping, the Secretary-general of new China, was soon resumed. Since the policy of reforming and opening-up to the outside world was carried in 1979, the central government of China focused upon modernization drive. Through economic and political restructuring, a new road of building up a socialist society with Chinese characteristics was identified. Great changes have taken place since reforming and opening up to the outside world. National economy grew rapidly and people's life was improved in great sense. That was the booming period after the funding of P.R.C.

In 1989, Jiang Zemin was elected General Secretary of P.R.C. and soon President in 1993. The third generation of CPC under the leadership of Comrade Jiang Zemin adhered to and carried out the basic national policy of reforming and opening up to the outside world. China therefore enjoyed stable governance, rapid economic growth, and active diplomacy.

In November, 2002 at the first plenary session of the 16th National People's Congress, Hu Jintao was elected General Secretary of the Central people's Government, and in March, 2003 elected President of P.R.C.