Events in the year 2003 in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Incumbents

* Party General Secretary -

Hu Jintao Hu Jintao (born 21 December 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, the president of China from 2003 to 2013, and chairman of the Central Military Comm ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

–

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as Chairman of the Central Mil ...

to March 15,

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

–

Zhu Rongji Zhu Rongji ( zh, s=朱镕基; IPA: ; born 23 October 1928) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the 5th premier of China from 1998 to 2003. He also served as member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP ...

to March 16,

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao ( zh, s=温家宝, p=Wēn Jiābǎo; born 15 September 1942) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the 6th premier of China from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behin ...

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

–

to March 15,

Zeng Qinghong Zeng Qinghong (, born 30 July 1939) is a retired Chinese politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, China's highest leadership council, and a member of the Secretariat of the Central Commit ...

* Vice Premier – Li Lanqing to March 6,

Huang Ju Huang Ju (28 September 1938 – 2 June 2007) was a Chinese politician and a high-ranking leader in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was one of the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CCP, China's top decision making bod ...

* Congress Chairman -

Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the 4th premier of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from ...

to March 15,

Wu Bangguo Wu Bangguo (22 July 1941 – 8 October 2024) was a Chinese politician who served as the second-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party from 2002 to 2012, and as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the ...

* Conference Chairman -

Li Ruihuan Li Ruihuan (born September 17, 1934) is a Chinese retired politician. Li was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), China's top decision-making body, between 1989 and 2002. Li served as Chairman of th ...

to March 14, Jia Qinglin

Governors

* Governor of Anhui Province – Wang Jinshan * Governor of Fujian Province –

Lu Zhangong Lu Zhangong ( zh, s=卢展工, t=盧展工, p=Lú Zhǎngōng, poj=Lo Tian-kang; born May 1952) is a Chinese politician. He is, since 2013, a Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and previously served as the Pa ...

* Governor of Gansu Province – Lu Hao * Governor of Guangdong Province –

Lu Ruihua Lu Ruihua (; November 1938 – 13 May 2025) was a Chinese politician who served as Governor of Guangdong. He joined the Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ...

then

Huang Huahua Huang Huahua (born October 1946 in Xingning, Guangdong) is a retired Chinese politician, and the Governor of Guangdong between 2003 and 2011. Of Hakka heritage, he was once the mayor of Meizhou. Biography Huang was born in Xingning County, ...

* Governor of Guizhou Province – Shi Xiushi * Governor of Hainan Province –

Wang Xiaofeng Wang Xiaofeng (; born October 1944) is a retired Chinese politician. He was born in Cili County, Hunan. Wang graduated from the China University of Mining and Technology and joined the Chinese Communist Party in May 1965. He has served as the de ...

then

Wei Liucheng Wei Liucheng ( born August 1946) is a Chinese businessman and politician. He is the former Governor and Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of Hainan province. In August 2011, Wei became one of the deputy chairs of the Committee on the Eco ...

* Governor of Hebei Province –

Ji Yunshi Ji Yunshi (, born September 1945) is a Chinese politician. He served in a variety of offices, including Governor of Jiangsu (1998–2002), Governor of Hebei (2002–2006), Vice-Minister for Human Resources and Social Security (2006–2011 ...

* Governor of Heilongjiang Province – Song Fatang then Zhang Zuoji * Governor of Henan Province –

Li Keqiang Li Keqiang ( zh, s=李克强, p=Lǐ Kèqiáng; 3 July 1955 – 27 October 2023) was a Chinese economist and politician who served as the seventh premier of China from 2013 to 2023. He was also the second-ranked member of the Politburo Standing ...

then

Li Chengyu Li Chengyu (, born August 1946) is a Chinese politician. He served as the governor of Henan between 2003 and 2008, and president of All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives between 2008 and 2011. Biography Li Chengyu was born ...

* Governor of Hubei Province –

Luo Qingquan Luo Qingquan (; 9 November 1945 – 23 April 2021) was a politician of the People's Republic of China and the former Governor and Communist Party Chief of Hubei province. Born in Jiangling, Hubei, Luo started working in 1968, and joined the CPC ...

* Governor of Hunan Province –

Zhang Yunchuan Zhang Yunchuan (; born 1946) is a politician of the People's Republic of China, and the former secretary of CPC Hebei committee. Born in Dongyang, Zhejiang Province, Zhang graduated from Institute of Military Engineering in Harbin in 1970, major ...

then Zhou Bohua * Governor of Jiangsu Province – Liang Baohua * Governor of Jiangxi Province – Huang Zhiquan * Governor of Jilin Province – Wang Min (until December), Han Changfu (starting December) * Governor of Liaoning Province –

Bo Xilai Bo Xilai ( zh, s=薄熙来, p=Bó Xīlái; born 3 July 1949) is a Chinese former politician who was convicted on bribery and embezzlement charges. He came to prominence through his tenures as Mayor of Dalian and then the governor of Liaoning. ...

* Governor of Qinghai Province – Song Xiuyan * Governor of Shaanxi Province – Jia Zhibang * Governor of Shandong Province –

Zhang Gaoli Zhang Gaoli ( zh, 张高丽; ; born November 1946) is a Chinese retired politician who served as the first-ranking vice premier of China between 2013 and 2018, and as the seventh-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chi ...

then Han Yuqun * Governor of Shanxi Province –

Liu Zhenhua Liu Zhenhua (; 8 July 1921 – 11 July 2018) was a general ('' shangjiang'') of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and a diplomat of the People's Republic of China. He served as ambassador to Albania and Deputy Foreign Minister. Biography H ...

* Governor of Sichuan Province – Zhang Zhongwei * Governor of Yunnan Province – Xu Rongkai * Governor of Zhejiang Province –

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

(until January), Lü Zushan (starting January)

Events

January

* January 7 to January 8 – Hefei student protests occur, which were described as the largest student protests since the

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known within China as the June Fourth Incident, were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, lasting from 15 April to 4 June 1989. After weeks of unsuccessful attempts between t ...

February

* February 24 – 2003 Bachu earthquake: An earthquake measuring 6.3 in magnitude occurred in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in northwest China, killing 191 people and 291 hospitalised. Almost 10,000 homes were leveled by the earthquake.

March

* March 14 – A

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

and portable audio player brand,

Meizu ‌Meizu (sometimes stylized in all caps) (Chinese name: 星纪魅族集团) ‌ is a technology company registered in Zhuhai, China. Its predecessor, Meizu Technology, was founded by Huang Zhang in 2003 and was famous for its MP3 player and s ...

was founded by Jack Wong in

Zhuhai Zhuhai; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Jyūhói''; Chinese postal romanization, also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern ...

Guangdong Province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

. * March 15 –

becomes

President of the People's Republic of China The president of China, officially the president of the People's Republic of China, is the List of state representatives of the People's Republic of China, state representative of the China, People's Republic of China. On its own, it is a Fig ...

, replacing

June

* June 1 – The

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

begins filling the

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

behind the massive

Three Gorges Dam The Three Gorges Dam (), officially known as Yangtze River Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project () is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River near Sandouping in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downs ...

, raising the water level near the dam over 100 meters.

October

* October 15 –

successfully launches

Shenzhou 5 Shenzhou 5 (, see ) was the first human spaceflight mission of the Chinese space program, launched on 15 October 2003. The Shenzhou (spacecraft), Shenzhou spacecraft was launched on a Long March 2F launch vehicle. There had been four previous fl ...

, their first crewed space mission, becoming the third country in the world to have independent human spaceflight capability after the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

December

* December 23 - A

PetroChina PetroChina Company Limited () is a Chinese oil and gas company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. The company is currently Asia's largest oil and ga ...

Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion in

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

, 234 people lives.

Births

* 6 March –

Long Daoyi Long Daoyi (, born 6 March 2003) is a Chinese athlete who competes in diving. He won two medals at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, winning gold in the 3m synchro springboard and bronze in the 3m springboard. At the 2024 Summer Olympics ...

, Chinese diver

Deaths

* January 12 — Wang Tieya, jurist (b.

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

) * January 22 — Tan Qilong, politician (b.

) * February 11 ** Ma Sanli, comedian (b.

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

) ** Luke Chia-Liu Yuan, physicist (b.

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

) * March 15 — Li Xuefeng, 2nd Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (b.

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

) * March 17 — Su Buqing, mathematician, educator and poet (b.

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's ...

) * April 1 —

Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (born Cheung Fat-chung; 12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. One of the most influential cultural icons in the Sinophone, Sinophone world, Cheung was known for his debonair demeanor, flamb ...

, Hong Kong singer and actor (b.

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

) * April 9 — Wu Zuguang, playwright, film director and social critic (b.

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

) * April 16 — Long Shujin, 3rd

Chairman of Xinjiang The Chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region People's Government is the head of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and leader of the People's Government of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The chairperson is elected by the Xinjiang ...

(b.

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

) * May 31 — Li Lin, physicist (b.

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

) * June 17 — Zheng Wenguang, science fiction author (b.

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

) * July 5 — Zhang Aiping, 6th Minister of National Defense of China (b.

) * October 23 —

Soong Mei-ling Soong Mei-ling (also spelled Soong May-ling; March 4, 1898 – October 23, 2003), also known as Madame Chiang (), was a Chinese political figure and socialite. The youngest of the Soong sisters, she married Chiang Kai-shek and played a prom ...

, political figure and wife of Chiang Kai-shek (b.

1898 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...

) * October 25 — Yao Guang, diplomat, foreign ambassador (born

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

) * November 15 — T. Y. Lin, Chinese-born civil engineer (born 1912) * November 16 — Richard Lam, Cantopop lyricist (b.

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

) * November 19 — Shi Zhecun, essayist, poet and short story writer (b.

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

) * November 24 —

Saifuddin Azizi Seypidin Azizi (12 March 1915 – 24 November 2003) was a Uyghurs, Uyghur politician who occupied top positions in the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), including Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National Peopl ...

, 4th Secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regional Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (b.

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

) * November 25 —

Zhang Honggen Zhang Honggen (; 27 November 1935 – 25 November 2003) was a Chinese international football player and coach. As a player, he was one of the first footballers to play for the People's Republic of China at the international level, and as a coac ...

, international football player and coach (b.

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

) * December 9 —

Blackie Ko Blackie Ko () (February 22, 1953 – December 9, 2003) was a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese film director, Film producer, producer, stuntman, singer and actor. Blackie was considered to be the greatest automotive stunt choreographer in Asia. Persona ...

, Taiwanese film director, producer, stuntman, singer and actor (b.

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

) * December 10 — Oswald Cheung, Hong Kong barrister (b.

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

) * December 13 — Xie Tian, actor and director (b.

) * December 27 — Ying Ruocheng, actor, director and playwright (b.

) * December 30 —

Anita Mui Anita Mui Yim-fong (; 10 October 1963 – 30 December 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actress who made major contributions to the Cantopop music scene and received numerous awards and honours. She remained an idol throughout her career, and i ...

, Hong Kong singer and actress (b.

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003 In The People's Republic Of China Years of the 21st century in China 2000s in China

Incumbents

Governors

Events

January

February

March

June

October

December

Births

Deaths

See also

References