China accepted only silver in exchange for goods. Britain, tired of paying in silver, seduced the Chinese to accept opium as payment!

The British Opium Wars in 1840 forced China to open. That led to China's "Century of Humiliation". China went into precipitous decline in the 19th century by the end of which, China was occupied by many foreign powers. Britain took Hong Kong and Portugal got Macau. Britain returned Hong Kong to China in 1997 and Portugal returned Macau in 1999.

After defeating the Nationalist Party of Kuomintang (KMT), the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Chairman Mao's leadership, declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China on 10/1/49.

Deng Xiaoping: Architect of Modern China

When Mao died in 1976, China was the second poorest among 140 countries. More than 75% of the nation lived on less than US$2 a day and the economy wasn't even 5% the size of that of the US. Now, China is a global superpower with the second biggest economy in the world.

The Opening of China: President Nixon's visit to China in 1972 with Henry Kissinger shows that when Nixon went to China, the world viewed images of China for the first time in over two decades. The move ended nearly 25 years of non-communication. The "Week that Changed the World" culminated in the announcement of the joint US-China Communiqué in Shanghai.

Deng Xiaoping was Chairman of the Central Advisory Commission from 1982-1987. After the death of Mao Zedong, Deng led China through a series of far-reaching market-economy reforms that earned him the reputation as the "Architect of Modern China".

Deng introduced a new brand of thinking that combined socialist ideology with free market enterprise. He opened China to foreign investment, policies that are credited with developing China into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and raising the standard of living of hundreds of millions.