III

Contemporary Chinese
History
Syllubus
Introductory session
• Ancient Chinese History
• Modern Chinese History
7. Opium Wars and the End of Feudalism;
8. Modern Chinese History and Republic of China;
9. Tensions: Sino-Japanese Wars;
10. Tensions: Civil War;

2
Syllubus
• Ancient Chinese History
• Modern Chinese History
• Comteporary Chinese History
11. Birth of People’s Republic of China;
12. 1970s: Reform and Open-up;
13. Conclusion and New Era of Chinese History;

3
XII.Birth of People’s Republic of China
4
1. The Founding of the People’s Republic of China

From June 15th to 19th, 1949,

the meeting of the preparatory
council for the new political
consultation conference was held
in Beiping. The second meeting
of the preparatory council was
held on September 17.
Chinese People’s Political
Consultative Conference
The first plenary session of the
Chinese People’s Political
Consultative Conference was held in
Beiping from September 21st to 30th.

• The name of the “New China”

would be the People’s Republic
of China.
• The AD year format was
adopted.
• The capital city was Beijing.
• The “March of Volunteers” was
chosen as the national anthem.
• The five-star red flag was
chosen as the national flag.
• The name of the “New China”
would be the People’s Republic
of China.
• The AD year format was
adopted.
• The capital city was Beijing.
• The “March of Volunteers” was
chosen as the national anthem.
• The five-star red flag was
chosen as the national flag. Nie’er & Tian Han
 March of the Volunteers

Arise! All who refuse to be slaves!

Let our flesh and blood become our new Great Wall!

As the Chinese nation faces its greatest peril,

All forcefully expend their last cries.

Arise! Arise! Arise!

May our million hearts beat as one,

Brave the enemy’s fire, march on!

Brave the enemy’s fire, march on!

March on! March on! On!

The council elected Mao Zedong
as the chairman of the Central
People’s Government of the
People’s Republic of China.

Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi as well as four

others as the vice-chairmen, and
also elected the Central People’s
Government Committee and the
CPPCC National Committee.
After 28 years of hard struggle,
the Communist Party of China
put an end to the frequent wars
and the state of division over the
past 100 years, achieved national
independence and people’s
liberation, and established the
People’s Republic of China in
1949, in which the people were
the masters of the country.
“The Central
People’s
Government of the
People’s Republic
of China was
established today!”
2. The Diplomacy of the People’s Republic of China

By October 1950, China had

officially established
diplomatic relations with 17
countries.
2.1 The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence

• In December 1953, when

Premier Zhou Enlai met with
an Indian delegation, he first
proposed the Five Principles of
mutual respect for sovereignty
and territorial integrity,
mutual non-aggression, non-
interference in each other’s
internal affairs, equality and
mutual benefit, and peaceful
coexistence.
2.2 Geneva Conference • From April to July 1954, the
diplomatic conferences of the
foreign ministers from the
Soviet Union, the United
States, Britain, France, China,
and other relevant countries
were held in Geneva,
Switzerland.
• It was the first time that China
had participated in important
international conferences as
one of the five major countries.
During the meeting, Britain showed
a more friendly attitude toward
China, and frequent contacts
between China and Britain
promoted the development of
bilateral relations.

• China and the United States

depended on Britain to
mediate talks many times
2.3 Restoration of lawful seat in the UN

China restored the

legitimate right in the
United Nations and
restored its permanent
seat on the Security
Council.
2.4 Recovery of Sino-American Relations

In February 1972, US President

Nixon visited China.
2.5 Recovery of Sino-Japanese Relations

China and Japan formally established diplomatic relations in

September 1972.

Kakuei Tanaka
 In the 1970s, China ushered in a wave of
diplomatic relations with countries around
c
the world, and more than 50 countries
established diplomatic relations with China.