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Shenzhou 5 launched from Jiuquan on 15 October 2003 with Yang Liwei aboard, making China the third country to put a person in space independently.

A Ms 8.0 (Mw 7.9) earthquake hit Sichuan at 14:28 on 12 May 2008, leaving more than 69,000 dead, about 18,000 missing and at least 4.8 million homeless.

The 29th Olympic Games opened on 8 August 2008 at Beijing National Stadium with a ceremony directed by Zhang Yimou, watched by a worldwide audience likely above a billion.

China locked down Wuhan and other Hubei cities on 23 January 2020 to quarantine the centre of the COVID-19 outbreak, confining some 11 million residents for 76 days until 8 April.

On 23 October 2022 the Communist Party named Xi Jinping to a third five-year term as general secretary and introduced a seven-man Politburo Standing Committee led by Li Qiang.

China's National Bureau of Statistics reported on 17 January 2023 that the population fell by about 850,000 to 1.41175 billion in 2022, the first decline in six decades.

Hong Kong High Court judge Linda Chan ordered China Evergrande Group wound up on 29 January 2024, saying 'enough is enough' for a developer with more than US$300 billion of liabilities.

China's Chang'e-6 capsule landed in Inner Mongolia on 25 June 2024 carrying 1,935.3 grams of lunar soil and rock, the first samples ever taken from the far side of the Moon.

Chinese start-up DeepSeek released its open-source R1 reasoning model on 20 January 2025, and fears about cheaper AI sent Nvidia's shares down 16.9% on 27 January, erasing US$588.8 billion of market value.

China's Ministry of Commerce issued six notices on 9 October 2025 extending export controls to rare-earth technology, equipment and, for the first time, foreign-made goods containing 0.1% or more of Chinese-origin material.

The 20th Central Committee's fourth plenary session, held in Beijing on 20-23 October 2025, adopted the Party's recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan.

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met at Gimhae airport in Busan on 30 October 2025, agreeing to halve the fentanyl tariff to 10% and a one-year pause on China's rare-earth export controls.

China launched an uncrewed Shenzhou-22 to Tiangong on 25 November 2025, six months early, to give the Shenzhou-21 crew a safe ride home after suspected space debris cracked Shenzhou-20's window.

China flew a Long March 10 prototype and the Mengzhou crew capsule from Wenchang on 11 February 2026, the first Max-Q abort test, with both stage and capsule recovered at sea.

China's legislature closed its annual session on 12 March 2026 after approving the 15th Five-Year Plan for 2026-2030 and a growth target of 4.5% to 5%, the lowest in nearly three decades.

Donald Trump met Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on 14-15 May 2026, producing a White House fact sheet of 200 Boeing jets and US$17 billion a year in farm purchases that China did not confirm.

Shenzhou-23 lifted off from Jiuquan on 24 May 2026 with commander Zhu Yangzhu, pilot Zhang Zhiyuan and Hong Kong payload specialist Lai Ka-ying, one of whom will stay on Tiangong for a full year.

China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft reached within 20 km of Earth's quasi-moon Kamoʻoalewa, the National Space Administration announced on 6 July 2026, beginning China's first asteroid sample-return effort.

The National Bureau of Statistics said on 15 July 2026 that GDP rose 4.7% year on year in the first half, with second-quarter growth slowing to 4.3% from 5.0% in the first quarter.

A Long March 7A carrying ChinaSat-4B failed about 85 seconds after liftoff from Wenchang on 10 August 2026, the rocket's first failure since its 2020 debut.

A Shenzhen court sentenced Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan (Xu Jiayin) to life imprisonment on 20 August 2026 for large-scale financial fraud and fined two Evergrande companies a combined 15.82 billion yuan.

China's National Bureau of Statistics is due to publish third-quarter and nine-month GDP at 10:00 Beijing time on Monday 19 October 2026, after first-half growth of 4.7%.

The 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party meets in Beijing from 26 to 29 October 2026 for its fifth plenary session, centred on 'full and rigorous Party self-governance'.

Shenzhou-24 is planned for launch from Jiuquan around late October to November 2026, bringing a Pakistani astronaut to China's Tiangong station for a one-week visit.

The 2026 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit runs 2-5 November in Wuzhen, Zhejiang, with open-source AI and AI governance at the centre of 27 sub-forums.

The 9th China International Import Expo runs 5-10 November 2026 at Shanghai's National Exhibition and Convention Center, with 53 national pavilions and more than 1,200 company exhibitors confirmed.

China's Singles' Day shopping festival falls on Wednesday 11 November 2026, with Alibaba, JD.com and other platforms running the world's largest online shopping day.

The 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting is scheduled for 18-19 November 2026 in Shenzhen, the third time China hosts, preceded by the APEC CEO Summit on 17-18 November.

China's new-generation Mengzhou spacecraft and the crew-rated Long March 10A rocket are scheduled to fly together for the first time in late 2026, an uncrewed test docking at Tiangong.

Chinese New Year falls on Saturday 6 February 2027, opening the Year of the Goat, with the CMG Spring Festival Gala broadcast on New Year's Eve and the chunyun travel rush beforehand.

The annual 'Two Sessions' are expected to open in Beijing in early March 2027, with the NPC convening on about 5 March after the 2026 session approved the 15th Five-Year Plan.

China said Chang'e-7 'does not meet the conditions for launch' in its August 2026 window, postponing the lunar south pole lander until early 2027, with a February or March window rumoured.