The 2000s

2000: China lounches Chinasat-22 (Zhongxing-22) communication satellite.

2000: Intensified anti-corruption activities. Former deputy chairman of People's Congress is executed for taking bribes.

2000: The Hanyu (Han language) Pinyin alphabet is written into law as unified standard for spelling and phonetic notation.

2000: Government consolidates Internet regulations for mainland China.

2000 - 2003: China begins long-distance population resettlement for the Three Gorges Dam project.

2000, October: The Vatican canonizes 120 "saints" that were "martyred" in China.

2001: Beijing is awarded the 2008 Olympic Games.

2001: Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) members stage mass demonstrations in Beijing despite outlaw of the movement.

2001, April: Major diplomatic crisis after US spy plane collides with Chinese fighter jet in mid-air and is forced to land.

2001, June: Growing tension across the Taiwan Strait.

2001, November: After years of negotiations, China becomes a member of the World Trade Organization.

2001, December: The Standing Committee of the 9th National People's Congress adopts "Population and Family Planning Law".

2002: China intensifies modernization of the People's Liberation Army.

2002: Kentucky Fried Chicken (a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc.) opens China's 700th KFC restaurant.

2002, February: US President George W. Bush visits China.

2002, April: Chinese scientists publish the genome sequence of the most widely cultivated rice subspecies (Indica).

2002, November: Hu Jintao replaces Jiang Zemin as head of the Communist Party.

2002, November: Most likely first cases of SARS in Guangdong.

2003: First-ever fiber optic network connection across Russian-Chinese border (Internet).

2003: During spring SARS virus outbreak in Hong Kong and Guangdong becomes known to the public. Quarantines.

2003, February: Two laboratories confirm avian influenza virus (H5N1) outbreak in Hong Kong.

2003, March: Hu Jintao is elected as President by National People's Congress.

2003, May: China launches the third (of three) Bei Dou-1 navigation satellites.

2003, October: First manned spacecraft send into orbit by "Long March 2F". Astronaut Yang Liwei.

2004: The United Nations estimates that one million Chinese are infected with HIV (the virus that causes AIDS).

2004: CERNET2 is China's first IPv6 high-speed network by CERN connecting 25 universities

2004, June: Scientists are warning that China may be facing a major HIV/AIDS epidemic.

2004, September: Government deploys heavily armed troops to protect Three Gorges Dam against terrorist attacks.

2004, October: China signes agreement with Russia setteling their long-lasting border conflicts.

2005: WHO says: Of all children alive today in China, around 50 million will die prematurely from tobacco use related disease.

2004, December: China has at least 94 million Internet users.

2005: Researchers at the Institute of Computing Technology (CAS) develop powerful 64-bit processor "Godson-2".

2005, June: China has at least 103 million Internet users, 45.6 million computer hosts, and 677,500 Web Sites.

2005, July: State-owned Galileo Industries begins cooperation with EU's Galileo satellite navigation system.

2005, August: Joint military maneuvers of China and Russia to "strengthen friendship".

2005, October: Two astronauts sent into space, circling earth with "Shenzhou VI space capsule".

2005, November: Water supply of Harbin city is cut off after high concentration of benzene in Songhua river.

2005, November: Attempts by regional government officials to cover up the water pollution catastrophe in Harbin.

2005, November: Major pollution of Songhua river after explosion of petrochemical plant in Jilin city (Jilin Province).

2006, January: CNOOC, one of China's largest oil and gas producers buys a stake in a Nigerian offshore oil and gas field.

2006, January: China's Ministry of Health, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and WHO publish report on AIDS.

2006, January: China's Ministry of Health confirms the country's 10th case of human infection with the avian influenza virus H5N1.

2006, February: Prominent elderly leaders protest in open letter against the Communist Party's secretive propaganda department.

2006, March: The Chinese inaugural edition of "Rolling Stone" magazine is immediately sold out.

2007, January: China shoots down old weather satellite, demonstrating capability of destroying hostile spy satellites.

2007, March: New landmark law on urban land use adopted by National People's Congress.

2007, May: China's military budget increases by 17.8% in 2007.

2007, October: Four million people have to be resettled within the next 10 to 15 years in the Three-Gorges Dam area.

2007, October: Lunar orbiter Chang'e 1 lounched into space to explore the Earth's moon.

2007, November: French company Areva wins deal to build two nuclear reactors in the South of China.

2007, December: Number of Internet Users in China reaches 210 million.

2007, November - 2008: Yahoo! accused of having provided information that led to imprisonment of civil rights activist in China.

2007, December: China celebrates launch of first domestically developed passenger jet Xiang Feng.

2008, February: U.S. Justice Department announces that several individuals are being charged with spying for China.

2008, March: Most violent ethnic protest in years erupt in Lhasa, Tibet's main city.

2008, March: Xinhua reports 19 deaths in public unrest at Tibet's capital Lhasa.

2008, March: China plans to increase its military budget by nearly 18%.

2008, May: Earthquake strikes Sichuan province: Death toll reaches 20,000.

2008, May: Death toll of May 12 earthquake rises to 40,075.

2008, June: Death toll of May 12 earthquake rises to 69,016, with more than 18,000 people still missing.

2008, August: Hua Guofeng dies in Beijing aged 87.

2008, August: China welcomes the world to the Beijing 2008 Olympic games.

2008, September: Sick toll in baby milk scandal raises to 13,000.

2008, October: Wen Jiabao accepts responsibility for milk scandal that might have affected more than 50,000 children.