It is important to bear in mind that the history of China’s relations with other countries, including the United States, has always been a key factor shaping the international system. The following brief overview provides some historical background to contemporary debates but also suggests that China’s distinctive history reveals a more complex picture than some of these narratives imply. Don’t worry about taking in all the detail or dates, just focus on the main lines of the story or narrative. Table 1 summarises some key dates in Chinese history and in its international relations.
Time | Key periods | Key events |
1368–1644 | Ming dynasty | 1402–1424 Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di |
1792–1911 | Feudal decay in China, rise of European colonialism |
1792 British envoy Macartney kowtows; |
1911–1937 | Nationalist rule under Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-Shek |
1911 Fall of the Chinese Empire, advent of Chinese Republic; |
1937–1945 | Fighting between China and Japan |
1945 Defeat of Japan |
1949–1953 | Communist revolution, Chiang Kai-Shek retreats to Taiwan |
1949 Founding of People’s Republic of China (PRC); |
1953–1964 | Mass collectivisation and rural industrialisation |
1953 First Five-Year Plan; |
1966–1976 |
Cultural Revolution, radical |
1969 China–Soviet Union border conflict; |
1978 to current day |
Reform era: economic liberalisation and |
1978 Deng Xiaoping assumes leadership; |
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