During the 20th century, many changes occurred within China, both economical and political. After the imperial government was overthrown, two groups tried to gain control of the country. This lead to a hectic period of time filled with struggles, rebellions, and political problems. However, even with the strife running through China, many positive traits rose. Today, China's economy has become an asset to the country being much greater than it was at the beginning of the century. While the struggle for China between the Nationalists and the Communists began with problems, it has resulted in the Communist Party leading the Chinese people towards a better quality of life.

Over the past two centuries, China has been overridden with war. The Opium Wars of the 19th century left defeat on the shoulders of China, forcing the Chinese to sign treaties with Britain, France, and the United States. These treaties gave the countries excellent trading rights and other advantages. China suffered another decisive defeat in 1895 at the hands of Japan and was hence forced to recognize Korea as an independent country. With this loss, the Chinese also had to pay an enormous indemnity and grant the island of Taiwan and the Liaodong Peninsula in southern Manchuria to Japan as well. The cession of this peninsula to Japan was immediately noted by Russia, France, and Germany, who saw the change of ownership as giving the Japanese a stronghold on the richest area of China. The three powers acted together to demand that Japan return the peninsula in return for an increased indemnity. This was eventually done, and, by 1898, unable to resist foreign demands by the three European powers, China had been carved into spheres of economic influence. The result was that the three powers slowly began to take an unfair advantage over China. Russia created a Trans-Siberian railroad -- the Chinese Eastern Railway -- across Manchuria to Vladivostok. In addition, they created the South Manchurian Railway, which connected the most southern point of the Liaodong Peninsula. Russia was also granted exclusive economic rights throughout Manchuria. Germany, France, Japan, and Great Britain were also given other rights to railway and mineral development in certain parts of China. At the end of the 19th century, the United States, in an attempt to preserve its rights within China (without having to worry about a war over territory), created the Open Door Policy. This policy, which the other powers agreed to, maintained that the new privileges granted to each country would not change the equal position of all nations under the terms of the most-favored-nations clauses. The United States also took China under its wing, making sure that China's national integrity would not be disturbed, though it did not back this guarantee with force until it was called upon in 1941. Although the Open Door Policy could not interfere with the most-favored-nation status, the rights and territories of the countries often switched hands, due to the Russo-Japanese War from 1904 to 1905. Some of the Russian rights in Southern Manchuria changed position, allowing Japan more control over the railway which ran through the area.

Many reformations and rebellions took place in response to the new spheres of influence which had become a part of China. One of the most famous of these is called the Boxer Rebellion. This group of enlightened reformers instituted a widespread reform program designed to turn China into a constitutional monarchy. In addition, it attempted to modernize the economy and educational system of the country. In order to achieve their goal, these reformers struck out at the entrenched power of a group of Manchu officials appointed by a recently retired Dowager Empress. The empress and the Manchu officials immediately seized the Chinese emperor who had helped and encouraged the rebellion and, with the help of military leaders, diminished the reform movement. With the reform movement shut down, a period of violence swept the country peaking in 1900 with the uprising of a secret society called the Boxers. This group, fully opposed to foreign rule within China, was pleased with the efforts of the Dowager Empress and the Manchu officials in crushing the rebellion that had tried to overtake the country. Eventually the Boxer Rebellion and the violence was crushed by a Western Expeditionary Force. The Manchu government realized that crushing the reformists had been futile, and that China did indeed need reformations.

In 1902, following a Japanese model, a reform program was initiated with the hopes of establishing a limited constitutional government. Unfortunately, by 1905, plans were abandoned for reformation and the Manchu's ideas were forgotten in lieu of another revolutionary action. After the Sino-Japanese War, Sun Yat-sen created a movement towards establishing a republican government within China. In the beginning of the 20th century, these revolutionaries formed a coalition of people opposed to the Manchu rule. By 1911, uprisings had broken out against a Qing railroad nationalization scheme, and later that year a rebellion occurred at Hankou in central China. These sorts of rebellion began to run rampant throughout the country and the revolutionary society led by Sun began to take control. While the Manchu armies were clearly better equipped and more prepared to fight than those of the rebel forces, the Manchu general, Yüan Shih-k'ai used only limited military pressure and instead negotiated with the rebel leadership for a position as president of a new republican government. In 1912, on February 12th, Sun Yat-sen was forced to step down from his role as provisional president in favor of General Yüan, and the Manchus left their offices. Two days later, a revolutionary assembly in Nanjing elected Yüan as the first president of the Republic of China.

The new Chinese Republic was able to remain as head of China from 1912 until 1914, but its rule was difficult and the country was not led strongly.

Although Yüan Shih-k'ai had created a constitution when he took control he did not want to let this rule take precedence over his personal control of the government. The new Nationalist Party, called the Kuomintang, controlled by Sun Yat-sen, tried to limit the Republic's power, the Parliament was dismissed and the Kuomintang was outlawed.

During World War I, Japan wanted to have a position of undisputed supremacy in China. In 1915, Japan presented a list of 21 demands to China, which, if they had all been used, would have diminished China into solely a protectorate of Japan. However, China was willing to agree to a modified list of Japanese demands, mainly to the transfer of German holdings in Shandong to Japan. China entered the World War on the allied side in 1917, with hopes that this late entry would promise a seat at the peace table for China. China expected that they would gain the support of the United States through the Open Door Policy, but instead the United States President, Woodrow Wilson, withdrew his support of China. Due to this lack of support, the Chinese delegation refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1923, Sun Yat-sen agreed to accept the Soviet advice to reorganize the crumbling of the Kuomintang party. He also agreed to admit Communists into the Kuomintang party. Sun died in 1925, but the Kuomintang party, now rejuvenated and prepared to engage in politics, continued to thrive. The new ruler, Chiang Kai-shek sought to reunify China and rid the country of imperialist and warlords. Differing from Sun's frame of thought, Chiang conducted a bloody purge of the party's Communist membership. The remaining Chinese Communists split into two factions and went underground. One of the factions tried to stop urban uprisings while the other mobilized peasant support, formed a peasant army, and set up several soviet governments. Eventually, the two factions joined together to form a strong Communist Party for China.

During World War II, the Kuomintang government in Chonqing suffered serious military and financial debilitation while the Communists were able to expand their territorial bases, military forces, and party membership. The Kuomintang government was able to bring in more recruits, but they were young and poorly trained. In 1945, after the Japanese surrendered, fighting broke out between the Communist and Kuomintang troops over the reoccupation of Manchuria. This conflict soon became a full scale civil war which led (along with the fact that China had been in continuous warfare for nearly two decades) to a disunity in leadership and an economy paralyzed by spiraling inflation.

In 1949, the Communists convened the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference which created a set of laws for governing the country. Four years later the Communist control had been firmly established in most levels of government and was running successfully. A constitution was created in 1954 to replace the Organic Law of 1949. In basic terms, the Communist Party wanted to change China into a socialist society. A very strict society was thus instilled in China, with the state being a role model in place of the family. Strict religious laws, including many laws concerning marriage, were formed. In the beginning of the Communist government, terror was used to eliminate any opposition.

The Communists first job was to reconstruct the economy, which had badly fallen after the decades of fighting and political strife. They immediately began to plan ways to check inflation and reestablish the domestic order needed for economic development. The first five-year program which was instituted in 1953 stressed the importance of heavy industry at the expense of consumer goods. The caution and planning that went into this plan were abandoned with the second plan in 1958, which had more rigid controls on the economy in order to increase agricultural production. The slogan of the plan was to effect a Great Leap Forward. Unfortunately, this program miscarried and the economy became badly disorganized. Industrial production, instead of rising, dropped 50 percent in the course of three years.

As time passed and the Communists continued to try to recreate the Chinese society, differences arose between Mao, the leader of one of the original two factions, and intellectuals. By May of 1956 it became evident that the party leaders were unable to command the intellectual class. In response, the communist party launched a campaign telling the Chinese to "let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend." The intellectual class was urged to bring forward their complaints so that problems could be identified. Later on, Mao decided to broaden the campaign by inviting free criticism of all government policies. A huge wave of dissatisfaction fell upon the government though, causing a reinstatement of the strict controls on freedom of expression. After this occurrence, the division between Mao and the moderates widened even more, leading to him retiring from his office to become party chairman in 1959. He was succeeded by the moderate Liu Shaoqi. The division continued to cause strife however, and revolutions took place to enforce ideas and beliefs.

During 1967 and 1968, a bloody battle took place between the Maoists and the anti-Maoists, causing thousands of lives to be taken. Finally the army was called in to restore order in many areas where rebellion and disarray had given way to anarchy. In the end, Mao emerged victorious for the Cultural Revolution and was greatly honored. His triumph, however, led to more diversity, and the real power was not held by him. In 1971, yet another power struggle resulted in the disappearance of Lin, who was supposed to be Mao's successor. It was believed that he was planning to assassinate Mao. Zhou rose in prominence as his and Mao's positions remained unchallenged. In 1976, both Premier Zhou and Chairman Mao died, leaving a power vacuum. Struggles once again rose between moderate and radical leaders before the election of Hua Guofeng to premier. Under Hua, moderate choices prevailed as he worked to stabilize politics and foster economic development.

China's foreign policy, which had always wavered, now improved dramatically, and the country was admitted into the United Nations in 1971, replacing Taiwan. In 1971, U.S. President Richard Nixon visited China and withdrew troops from Taiwan. Liaison offices were set up in Beijing and Washington in 1973, and diplomatic relations with Japan were established in 1972. However, while some foreign relations were being strengthened, others were beginning to show strain. Soviet influence in Vietnam was growing resulting in an exodus of ethnic Chinese who crowded into southern China. By July of 1978, China felt compelled to close its borders. As Vietnam continued to invade Cambodia and destroy its Chinese-backed government in 1979, China retaliated and sent troops into Vietnam. Although the troops stayed for just a month, Chinese residents of Vietnam were forced to leave the country and many died in their voyage home. Worried by potential Soviet-Vietnamese activity, China enhanced its foreign contacts and created a trade agreement and diplomatic relations with the United States at the beginning of 1979, also establishing closer ties with Japan and parts of Europe.

After the problems with Vietnam, the foreign relations of China seemed to ameliorate and the country began to experience a better quality of life with an improved economy. The country has truly come a long way in the past decade, but has plenty of problems left ahead.