Further information: Proclamation of the People's Republic of China, Retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan, Cultural Revolution, and Chinese economic reform

Mao Zedong proclaiming the establishment of the PRC in 1949.

Major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the CCP in control of most of mainland China, and the Kuomintang retreating offshore to Taiwan, reducing its territory to only Taiwan, Hainan, and their surrounding islands. On 1 October 1949, CCP Chairman Mao Zedong formally proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China at the new nation's founding ceremony and inaugural military parade in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.[108][109] In 1950, the People's Liberation Army captured Hainan from the ROC[110] and incorporated Tibet.[111] However, remaining Kuomintang forces continued to wage an insurgency in western China throughout the 1950s.[112]

Deng Xiaoping with U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1979

The government consolidated its popularity among the peasants through land reform, which included the execution of between 1 and 2 million landlords.[113] China developed an independent industrial system and its own nuclear weapons.[114] The Chinese population increased from 550 million in 1950 to 900 million in 1974.[115] However, the Great Leap Forward, an idealistic massive reform project, resulted in an estimated 15 to 35 million deaths between 1958 and 1961, mostly from starvation.[116][117] In 1966, Mao and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution, sparking a decade of political recrimination and social upheaval that lasted until Mao's death in 1976. In October 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic in the United Nations, and took its seat as a permanent member of the Security Council.

After Mao's death, the Gang of Four was quickly arrested by Hua Guofeng and held responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Elder Deng Xiaoping took power in 1978, and instituted significant economic reforms. The Party loosened governmental control over citizens' personal lives, and the communes were gradually disbanded in favor of working contracted to households. This marked China's transition from a planned economy to a mixed economy with an increasingly open-market environment.[119] China adopted its current constitution on 4 December 1982. In 1989, the suppression of student protests in Tiananmen Square brought condemnations and sanctions against the Chinese government from various foreign countries.

Seal of the People's Government of the People's Republic of China, the national seal of the state used between 1949 and 1959

Jiang Zemin, Li Peng and Zhu Rongji led the nation in the 1990s. Under their administration, China's economic performance pulled an estimated[by whom?] 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual gross domestic product growth rate of 11.2%.[121][better source needed] The country joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and maintained its high rate of economic growth under Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao's leadership in the 2000s. However, the growth also severely impacted the country's resources and environment,[122][123] and caused

Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping has ruled since 2012 and has pursued large-scale efforts to reform China's economy [126][127] (which has suffered from structural instabilities and slowing growth),[128][129][130] and has also reformed the one-child policy and penal system,[131] as well as instituting a vast anti corruption crackdown.[132]

On 1 July 2021, the People's Republic of China celebrated the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the CCP (first of the Two Centenaries) with a huge gathering in Tiananmen Square and cultural artistic performance in Beijing National Stadium in Beijing.

Further information: Proclamation of the People's Republic of China, Retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan, Cultural Revolution, and Chinese economic reform

Mao Zedong proclaiming the establishment of the PRC in 1949.

Major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the CCP in control of most of mainland China, and the Kuomintang retreating offshore to Taiwan, reducing its territory to only Taiwan, Hainan, and their surrounding islands. On 1 October 1949, CCP Chairman Mao Zedong formally proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China at the new nation's founding ceremony and inaugural military parade in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.[108][109] In 1950, the People's Liberation Army captured Hainan from the ROC[110] and incorporated Tibet.[111] However, remaining Kuomintang forces continued to wage an insurgency in western China throughout the 1950s.[112]

Deng Xiaoping with U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1979

The government consolidated its popularity among the peasants through land reform, which included the execution of between 1 and 2 million landlords.[113] China developed an independent industrial system and its own nuclear weapons.[114] The Chinese population increased from 550 million in 1950 to 900 million in 1974.[115] However, the Great Leap Forward, an idealistic massive reform project, resulted in an estimated 15 to 35 million deaths between 1958 and 1961, mostly from starvation.[116][117] In 1966, Mao and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution, sparking a decade of political recrimination and social upheaval that lasted until Mao's death in 1976. In October 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic in the United Nations, and took its seat as a permanent member of the Security Council.

After Mao's death, the Gang of Four was quickly arrested by Hua Guofeng and held responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Elder Deng Xiaoping took power in 1978, and instituted significant economic reforms. The Party loosened governmental control over citizens' personal lives, and the communes were gradually disbanded in favor of working contracted to households. This marked China's transition from a planned economy to a mixed economy with an increasingly open-market environment.[119] China adopted its current constitution on 4 December 1982. In 1989, the suppression of student protests in Tiananmen Square brought condemnations and sanctions against the Chinese government from various foreign countries.

Seal of the People's Government of the People's Republic of China, the national seal of the state used between 1949 and 1959

Jiang Zemin, Li Peng and Zhu Rongji led the nation in the 1990s. Under their administration, China's economic performance pulled an estimated[by whom?] 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual gross domestic product growth rate of 11.2%.[121][better source needed] The country joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and maintained its high rate of economic growth under Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao's leadership in the 2000s. However, the growth also severely impacted the country's resources and environment,[122][123] and caused

Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping has ruled since 2012 and has pursued large-scale efforts to reform China's economy [126][127] (which has suffered from structural instabilities and slowing growth),[128][129][130] and has also reformed the one-child policy and penal system,[131] as well as instituting a vast anti corruption crackdown.[132]

On 1 July 2021, the People's Republic of China celebrated the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the CCP (first of the Two Centenaries) with a huge gathering in Tiananmen Square and cultural artistic performance in Beijing National Stadium in Beijing.