China china (Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó), officially the People's Republic of China

Reforms and contemporary history
Further information: Chinese economic reform
The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests was ended by a military-led massacre which brought condemnations and sanctions against the Chinese government from various foreign countries.
After Mao's death, the Gang of Four was quickly arrested by Hua Guofeng and held responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Deng Xiaoping took power in 1978, and instituted large-scale political and economic reforms, together with the "Eight Elders", CCP members who held huge influence during this time. The CCP loosened governmental control over citizens' personal lives, and the communes were gradually disbanded in favor of working contracted to households. The Cultural Revolution was also rebuked, with millions of its victims being rehabilitated.^[119] Agricultural collectivization was dismantled and farmlands privatized, while foreign trade became a major new focus, leading to the creation of special economic zones (SEZs). Inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were restructured and unprofitable ones were closed outright, resulting in massive job losses.^{[citation needed]} This marked China's transition from a planned economy to a mixed economy with an increasingly open-market environment.^[120] China adopted its current constitution on 4 December 1982.
In 1989, the country saw large pro-democracy protests, eventually leading to the Tiananmen Square massacre by the leadership, bringing condemnations and sanctions against the Chinese government from various foreign countries, though the effect on external relations was short-lived.^[121] Jiang Zemin, Party secretary of Shanghai at the time, was selected to replace Zhao Ziyang as the CCP general secretary; Zhao was put under house arrest for his sympathies to the protests. Jiang later additionally took the presidency and Central Military Commission chairmanship posts, effectively becoming China's top leader. Li Peng, who was instrumental in the crackdown, remained premier until 1998, after which Zhu Rongji became the premier. Under their administration, China continued economic reforms,^[122] further closing many SOEs and massively trimming down "iron rice bowl"; occupations with guaranteed job security.^[123][124] During Jiang's rule, China's economy grew sevenfold,^[123] and its performance pulled an estimated^{[by whom?]} 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual gross domestic product growth rate of 11.2%.^{[125][better source needed]} British Hong Kong and Portuguese Macau returned to China in 1997 and 1999, respectively, as the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions under the principle of one country, two systems. The country joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.^[123]
Between 2002 and 2003, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao succeeded Jiang and Zhu as paramount leader and premier respectively; Jiang attempted to remain CMC chairman for longer before giving up the post entirely between 2004 and 2005.^[123] Under Hu and Wen, China maintained its high rate of economic growth, overtaking the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan to become the world's second-largest economy.^[126] However, the growth also severely impacted the country's resources and environment,^[127][128] and caused major social displacement.^[129][130] Hu and Wen also took a relatively more conservative approach towards economic reform, expanding support for SOEs.^[131]: 217Additionally under Hu, China hosted the Beijing Olympics in 2008.^[132]