  in the people's republic of china, deng xiaoping formally retired after the tiananmen square protests of 1989, to be succeeded by former shanghai mayor jiang zemin. the crackdown in 1989 led to great woes in china's reputation globally, and sanctions resulted. the situation, however, would eventually stabilize. deng's idea of checks and balances in the political system also saw its demise with jiang consolidating power in the party, state and military. the 1990s saw healthy economic development, but the closing of state-owned enterprises and increasing levels of corruption and unemployment, along with environmental challenges continued to plague china, as the country saw the rise to materialism, crime, and new-age spiritual-religious movements such as falun gong. the 1990s also saw the peaceful handover of hong kong and macau to chinese control under the formula of one country, two systems. china also saw a new surge of nationalism when facing crises abroad. ==recovery in the 1990s== ===restoring economic stability and growth=== the inflation trends of the years leading up to the tiananmen square protests of 1989 had subsided by the early 1990s, as jiang zemin and the new generation of leadership attempted to calm any economic influx. political institutions have stabilized, owing to the institutionalized procedures of the deng years and a generational shift from peasant revolutionaries to well-educated, professional technocrats. the majority of university graduates come from a sciences-oriented background, and many pursued life outside of china. for those who stayed, state-owned research firms and enterprises were a popular destination. in the aftermath of the tiananmen square protests, china became an international pariah and the next three years were grim. hardliners took over the government and began reigning in free enterprise. they also attempted to revive maoist propaganda and ideological campaigns, but the public largely treated it with apathy. in practice, the changes of the last decade made it impossible to ever truly return to the ways of mao's time. the cpc leadership was further embarrassed by the collapse of communism in eastern europe during 1989-1990, and especially by the fall of romanian leader nicolae ceauÈescu, as his fanatical regime was one they were certain would never fall. despite retreating into its shell, china's government continued to state that it welcomed foreign business and investment. for all its weakness and unpopularity, the cpc nonetheless had no serious opposition, as most overseas dissident groups were divided, quarrelsome, and lacking a charismatic leader. in april 1990, li peng visited moscow where he was faced with dozens of soviet protesters denouncing him as a butcher. li laid a wreath on lenin's tomb, indicating his loyalty to a fading ideology. his ide
20th_century_in_China 21st_century_in_China History_of_the_People\'s_Republic_of_China