1991-1992 GDP grows at a rate of 7.5 percent, then averages 11 percent per annum, through 1997, the most rapid growth rate of any major world economy. Deng Xiaoping dies on February 19 at age ninety-three. Hong Kong is returned to Chinese jurisdiction. China's economic growth drops sharply to below 8 percent per annum. Economic reformer Zhu Ransil becomes premier.
China earns world respect for economic role in Asian financial crisis.
1999 Mounting tension between the US and China over China's entry into the World Trade Organization and NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. The Fiftieth anniversary of the PRC is celebrated.