2021 in China

2021
in
China
Decades:
See also:Other events of 2021
History of China  • Timeline  • Years

In 2021, China continued to address the COVID-19 pandemic in China with a Zero-COVID policy that significantly reduced transmission of COVID-19 through large scale lockdowns and testing. The Convidecia and Sinopharm vaccines were approved for general use in China in February 2021. China achieved a record number of 55 space missions in 2021, including the development of the Tiangong space station and the first Chinese craft to land on Mars. Concerns about declining birth rates caused the national government to replace its two-child policy with a three-child policy in May 2021. In the Chinese zodiac, 2021 was the year of the Ox and associated with the Wuxing element of metal.

Long standing territorial disputes continued in China. Territorial disputes in the South China Sea led to a diplomatic incident with the Philippines in April 2021. Disputes over the recognition of Taiwan included the possibility of Lithuanian recognition of Taiwan, leading to a diplomatic crisis in August 2021. Other diplomatic disputes included the East China Sea EEZ disputes, skirmishes with India along the China–India border, and the continuing trade war with the United States. China strengthened its relations with Afghanistan, Iran, and Russia in 2021.

A wave of political reforms continued in 2021, applying restrictions or bans to cryptocurrency, skyscrapers, private tutoring, celebrity gossip, and video games. Tech companies were placed under increased scrutiny by the Chinese government in 2021. Anti-monopoly measures were carried out, and several major companies saw significant penalties throughout the year. A property sector crisis affecting companies such as the Evergrande Group in 2021 prompted economic troubles in China. Political reforms in Hong Kong restricted democracy and limited elections to candidates approved by the Chinese Communist Party. Pro-democracy newspapers and groups in Hong Kong were also shut down. Alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang continued, including accusations of genocide.

Incumbents

Communist Party secretaries

Post Name
Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Communist Party Committee Cai Qi
Secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Communist Party Committee Li Hongzhong
Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Communist Party Committee Li Qiang
Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Communist Party Committee Chen Min'er
Secretary of the Anhui Province Communist Party Committee Li Jinbin
Zheng Shanjie
Secretary of the Fujian Province Communist Party Committee Yin Li
Secretary of the Gansu Province Communist Party Committee Lin Duo
Yin Hong
Secretary of the Guangdong Province Communist Party Committee Li Xi
Secretary of the Guizhou Province Communist Party Committee Shen Yiqin
Secretary of the Hainan Province Communist Party Committee Shen Xiaoming
Secretary of the Hebei Province Communist Party Committee Wang Dongfeng
Secretary of the Heilongjiang Province Communist Party Committee Zhang Qingwei
Xu Qin
Secretary of the Henan Province Communist Party Committee Wang Guosheng
Lou Yangsheng
Secretary of the Hubei Province Communist Party Committee Ying Yong
Secretary of the Hunan Province Communist Party Committee Xu Dazhe
Zhang Qingwei
Secretary of the Jiangsu Province Communist Party Committee Lou Qinjian
Wu Zhenglong
Secretary of the Jiangxi Province Communist Party Committee Liu Qi
Yi Lianhong
Secretary of the Jilin Province Communist Party Committee Jing Junhai
Secretary of the Liaoning Province Communist Party Committee Zhang Guoqing
Secretary of the Qinghai Province Communist Party Committee Wang Jianjun
Secretary of the Shaanxi Province Communist Party Committee Liu Guozhong
Secretary of the Shandong Province Communist Party Committee Liu Jiayi
Li Ganjie
Secretary of the Shanxi Province Communist Party Committee Lou Yangsheng
Lin Wu
Secretary of the Sichuan Province Communist Party Committee Peng Qinghua
Secretary of the Yunnan Province Communist Party Committee Ruan Chengfa
Wang Ning
Secretary of the Zhejiang Province Communist Party Committee Yuan Jiajun
Secretary of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Communist Party Committee Shi Taifeng
Secretary of the Guangxi Autonomous Region Communist Party Committee Lu Xinshe
Liu Ning
Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region Communist Party Committee Wu Yingjie
Wang Junzheng
Secretary of the Ningxia Autonomous Region Communist Party Committee Chen Run'er
Secretary of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Communist Party Committee Chen Quanguo

Governors

Post Name
Governor of Anhui Province Li Guoying (until 1 February)
Wang Qingxian (from 1 February)
Governor of Fujian Province Wang Ning
Governor of Gansu Province TBA
Governor of Guangdong Province Ma Xingrui
Governor of Guizhou Province Li Bingjun
Governor of Hainan Province Feng Fei
Governor of Hebei Province Xu Qin
Governor of Heilongjiang Province Hu Changsheng
Governor of Henan Province Yin Hong (until 31 March)
Wang Kai (from 31 March)
Governor of Hubei Province Wang Xiaodong (until 7 May)
Wang Zhonglin (from 7 May)
Governor of Hunan Province Mao Weiming
Governor of Jiangsu Province Wu Zhenglong
Governor of Jiangxi Province Wu Zhenglong
Governor of Jilin Province Han Jun
Governor of Liaoning Province Liu Ning
Governor of Qinghai Province Xin Changxing
Governor of Shaanxi Province Zhao Yide
Governor of Shandong Province N/A
Governor of Shanxi Province Lin Wu (until June)
Lan Foan (starting June)
Governor of Sichuan Province Huang Qiang
Governor of Yunnan Province Chen Hao
Governor of Zhejiang Province Zheng Shanjie (until 30 September)
Wang Hao (starting 30 September)

Ongoing

A COVID-19 health checkpoint in Nanjing South railway station on 18 December 2021

Events

January

  • 1 January – Amendments to the National Defence Law take effect, transferring military powers from the State Council to the Central Military Commission, effectively giving Xi Jinping control over the military.
  • 5 January
  • 6 January – COVID-19 pandemic: 11 million people are locked down in Shijiazhuang due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
  • 10 January – An explosion triggers a mining accident in Qixia, Shandong.
  • 11 January – COVID-19 pandemic: 13 members of the 15 member World Health Organization team sent to study the origins of COVID-19 arrive in Wuhan, China. The last two members are awaiting in Singapore for their COVID-19 test results.
  • 14 January – COVID-19 pandemic: The first recorded death from COVID-19 since May 2020 is reported in Hebei.
  • 20 January – 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes: Chinese forces clash with Indian forces in Naku La.
  • 22 January – East China Sea EEZ disputes: China passes a law authorizing the China Coast Guard to fire on foreign vessels in the East China Sea.
  • 30 January – The Hualong One nuclear reactor begins commercial operation.

February

  • 2 February – ByteDance files a lawsuit against Tencent for monopolistic practices.
  • 6 February – COVID-19 pandemic: China approves the CoronaVac vaccine for general use.
  • 7 February – China issues stricter anti-monopoly regulations to regulate internet platforms.
  • 8 February – Clubhouse is blocked in China after increasing in popularity.
  • 10 February – The Tianwen-1 orbiter and rover is inserted into orbit.
  • 11 February – The CCTV New Year's Gala attracts international controversy for the use of blackface.
  • 15 February – A series of attacks are carried out on Chinese-owned factories in Myanmar as part of the 2021–2022 Myanmar protests.
  • 20 February – 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes: Chinese and Indian forces complete a withdraw from Pangong Tso after a months-long standoff.
  • 22 February – Uyghur genocide: The Parliament of Canada votes to recognize the Chinese persecution of Uyghurs as a genocide, becoming the second country to do so.
  • 25 February

March

Chinese and American delegates at the United States–China talks in Alaska

April

The Tianhe core module prior to launch
  • 6 April – 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes: The Tibet Autonomous Region introduces 15 regulations on the border with India to limit entry.
  • 10 April – Alibaba Group is fined 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion USD).
  • 11 April – COVID-19 pandemic: China ends the mandatory vaccination policy of several localities amid vaccine hesitancy.
  • 27 April – An oil spill takes place off the coast of Qingdao.
  • 29 April – The Tianhe core module is launched into space as the first component of the Tiangong space station.

May

Crowds at the funeral of Yuan Longping
  • 8 May – The rocket body from the Tianhe launch plunges into the ocean, prompting international concerns about safety measures for returning spacecraft.
  • 9 May – China deletes two million posts from the internet for their discussion of Chinese history.
  • 14 May
    • The Zhurong rover is the first Chinese craft to successfully land on Mars.
    • Tornadoes form in Wuhan and Shengze, killing 12 people.
  • 19 May – China bans the use or transfer of cryptocurrencies by banks, prompting Bitcoin to decline in value by nearly 30 percent.
  • 20 May – Chinese industry sees significant economic turn down after China announces price controls on raw materials.
  • 21 May – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurs in Yunnan Province.
  • 22 May
  • 24 May – The funeral of Yuan Longping is attended by thousands of people.
  • 25 May – Thousands are evacuated in Shenzhen after SEG Plaza begins wobbling without apparent cause.
  • 29 May – The Tianzhou 2 is launched into space and it docks with the Tiangong space station.
  • 31 May – China replaces the two-child policy with the three-child policy to account for population decline.

June

The Chengdu Tianfu International Airport in 2021

July

News report of flooding in Zhengzhou, Henan

August

  • 1 August – COVID-19 pandemic: Millions of people in Beijing and other cities go into lockdown amid a COVID-19 outbreak.
  • 10 August – China severs diplomatic relations with Lithuania in response to the establishment of a Lithuanian embassy in Taiwan.
  • 15 August – The Hong Kong rights group Civil Human Rights Front disbands.
  • 20 August – The Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China is enacted.
  • 23 August – The discovery of Bianchengichthys is reported following the excavation of its fossils.
  • 23–24 August – COVID-19 pandemic: Thousands of people in Ruili are evacuated to Mangshi for a 14-day quarantine.
  • 24 August – The Ministry of Education establishes new guidelines requiring Xi Jinping Thought to be taught in schools.
  • 26 August – Dong Hong, former corruption investigator at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, is put on trial for accepting bribes.
  • 27 August – China establishes regulations on fan culture on the internet, including a ban on celebrity gossip. All content relating to actress Zhao Wei is removed from Chinese internet.
  • 30 August – China bans children from accessing online video games outside of a designated periods that add up to three hours each week.

September

A sign outside the 2021 National Games of China

October

Shenzhou 13 launches on a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

November

The M+ art museum in Hong Kong

December

  • 1 December
    • COVID-19 pandemic: 13 million people are put under lockdown in Xi'an after 52 cases are discovered in a COVID-19 outbreak.
    • The Women's Tennis Association suspends all games in China in response to the treatment of tennis player Peng Shuai.
  • 3 December
    • The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index falls by 9.1 percent, the largest fall since 2008.
    • Chinese Olympic medalists perform in a goodwill tour in Hong Kong.
  • 4 December – China hosts the International Democracy Forum after it is not invited to the Summit for Democracy.
  • 13 December – COVID-19 pandemic: The first case of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in mainland China is documented in Tianjin.
  • 19 December – The 2021 Hong Kong legislative election takes places with candidates pre-selected by the Chinese Communist Party.
  • 20 December – The People's Bank of China cuts its main interest rate for the first time in 20 months.
  • 21 December – The discovery of a fossilized dinosaur embryo in China is reported.
  • 26 December – The Ziyuan I-02E satellite is sent into orbit.
  • 29 December – Stand News is shut down after its editors are arrested and its assets are frozen.

Deaths

January–March

Peng Shilu

April–June

Yang Xiong
Wu Mengchao
Yuan Longping

July–September

He Kang
Jin Renqing

October–December

Chen Wenxin

See also

Country overviews

Related timelines for current period

Timelines of Chinese regions


This page was last updated at 2023-12-26 06:09 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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