China’s 1.4 billion people have gone through periods of tremendous upheaval and change under 70 years of Communist rule. 1972: Richard Nixon becomes the first American president to visit Communist China. 1997: Hong Kong, the former British colony, returns to Chinese rule under the principle of “one country, two systems.”2001: China joins the World Trade Organization. 2016: An international panel rules against China’s definition of its South China Sea territorial claims, but China continues to expand its presence in the strategically important waters. 2018: President Donald Trump starts a tariff and trade war with China as concern grows over China’s challenge to U.S. technological might.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 27, 2019 11:14 UTC