# 1979 in China

Events in the year 1979 in the People's Republic of China.

## Incumbents

* Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party – Hua Guofeng
* Premier of the People's Republic of China – Hua Guofeng
* Chairman of the National People's Congress – Ye Jianying
* Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference – Deng Xiaoping
* Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China – Deng Xiaoping

### Governors

* Governor of Anhui Province – Wan Li then Zhang Jingfu
* Governor of Fujian Province – Liao Zhigao then Ma Xingyuan
* Governor of Gansu Province – Song Ping then Li Dengying
* Governor of Guangdong Province – Wei Guoqing then Xi Zhongxun
* Governor of Guizhou Province – Ma Li (until unknown)
* Governor of Hebei Province – Liu Zihou
* Governor of Heilongjiang Province – Yang Yichen then Chen Lei
* Governor of Henan Province – Duan Junyi then Liu Jie
* Governor of Hubei Province – Chen Pixian then Han Ningfu
* Governor of Hunan Province – Mao Zhiyong then Sun Guozhi
* Governor of Jiangsu Province – Xu Jiatun then Hui Yuyu
* Governor of Jiangxi Province – Jiang Weiqing then Bai Dongcai
* Governor of Jilin Province – Wang Enmao
* Governor of Liaoning Province – vacant
* Governor of Qinghai Province – Tan Qilong then Zhang Guosheng
* Governor of Shaanxi Province – Wang Renzhong then Yu Mingtao
* Governor of Shandong Province – Bai Rubing then Su Yiran
* Governor of Shanxi Province – Wang Qian then Luo Guibo
* Governor of Sichuan Province – Zhao Ziyang then Lu Dadong
* Governor of Yunnan Province – An Pingsheng then Liu Minghui
* Governor of Zhejiang Province – Tie Ying then Li Fengping

## Events
### January

* January 1 — The United States broke diplomatic relations with Republic of China, and established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
* January - The One Child Policy is announced and implemented (est.)

### February

* February 17 – The People's Republic of China invades northern Vietnam, launching the Sino-Vietnamese War.

### March

* March 5 – Zhuhai County was upgraded to Zhuhai City.
* March 14 – In China, a Hawker Siddeley Trident crashes into a factory near Beijing, killing at least 260.

### September

* September 27 – Stars Art Exhibition, the first independent art exhibition, takes place in Beihai Park, Beijing

## Births

* January 13 – Yang Wei, Badminton player
* February 9 – Zhang Ziyi, film actress
* February 17 – Xu Yunlong, footballer
* March 5 – Tang Gonghong, Chinese weightlifter
* March 12 – Liu Xuan, Gymnast
* March 14 – Gao Ling, badminton player
* May 15 – Li Yanfeng, discus thrower
* April 19 – Zhao Junzhe, footballer
* June 14 – Ma Ning, association football referee
* June 20 – Li Yi, footballer
* July 19 – Mo Huilan, gymnast
* August 15 – Tong Jian, pair skater
* August 27 – Tian Liang, diver
* September 18 – Bobo Chan, Musical artist
* October 5 – Gao Yuanyuan, actress and model
* October 7 – Tang Wei, actress
* December 10 – Yang Jianping, archer
* December 24 – Pang Qing, figure skater
* December 27 – Sa Dingding, folk singer and songwriter

## Deaths

* January 15 — Yang Zhongjian, vertebrate paleontologist (b. 1897)
* February 7
** Su Zhenhua, general and politician (b. 1912)
** Cui Wei, film director and actor (b. 1912)
* March 7 — Lei Chen, Taiwanese politician and dissident (b. 1897)
* March 12 — Zheng Xiaocang, writer, translator, and educator (b. 1892)
* March 30 — Tong Dizhou, embryologist (b. 1902)
* May 27 — Yao Zhe, lieutenant general of the People's Liberation Army (b. 1906)
* June 30 — Zhou Shidi, general of the People's Liberation Army (b. 1900)
* July 1 — Huang Minlon, organic chemist and pharmaceutical scientist (b. 1898)
* July 4 — Lee Wai Tong, Hong Kong and Chinese international association football player, head coach and former Vice President of FIFA (b. 1905)
* August 1 — Li Ji, influential archaeologist (b. 1896)
* August 14 — Wang Yun-wu, scholar of history and political science (b. 1888)
* August 27 — Shi Jianqiao, assassin of the Warlord Sun Chuanfang (b. 1905)
* September 25 — Zhou Libo, novelist and translator (b. 1908)
* October 13 — Chang Kia-ngau, banker, politician and scholar (b. 1889)
* December 3 — Zhang Guotao, revolutionary, founding member of the Chinese Communist Party and a rival to Mao Zedong (b. 1897)