January 2

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Opinions on Implementing the Rural Revitalization Strategy. On June 26, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Strategic Plan for Rural Revitalization (2018–2022).

January 3

The CPC Central Military Commission held a mobilization meeting to kick off its 2018 training program, at which Xi Jinping issued an order to the entire army. This was the first time the CPC Central Military Commission held such a meeting for the entire army, presenting a brand new look of the people's army in enhancing training aimed at combat readiness in the new era. 

January 18–19

The 2nd Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee was held. The Session adopted the Proposals on Amending Part of the Constitution.

February 26–28

The 3rd Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee was held. The Session adopted the Decision on Deepening the Reform of the Party and the State Institutions and the Plan for Deepening the Reform of the Party and the State Institutions. On March 17, the 1st Session of the 13th NPC approved the plan for institutional restructuring of the State Council. On July 5, 2019, a conference reviewing the deepening of reform of the Party and state institutions was convened, at which Xi Jinping pointed out that deepening the reform of the Party and the state institutions was a systematic and holistic reconstruction of the organizational structure and management mechanism of the Party and the state institutions, which provided a strong institutional guarantee for improving and developing the socialist system with Chinese characteristics and advancing the modernization of China's governance system and capacity. 

March 3–15

The 1st Session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee was held. At the Session, Wang Yang was elected chairman of the CPPCC National Committee.

March 5–20

The 1st Session of the 13th NPC was convened. At the Session, Xi Jinping was elected president of the PRC and chairman of the PRC Central Military Commission, and Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee; Li Keqiang was appointed as premier of the State Council. The Amendment to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China was adopted, making clear the guiding position of the Scientific Outlook on Development and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era were the guiding ideology in the country's political and social life. The Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China was approved. On March 23, the National Supervision Commission of the People's Republic of China was unveiled in Beijing.

March

Beginning in March, the US government unilaterally provoked China-US economic and trade frictions and China was forced to take effective measures to resolutely defend the interests of the country and the people. On April 1, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council decided to suspend its obligations to reduce tariffs on 128 items of US imports falling into seven categories from April 2, 2018. On April 4 to 5, China respectively requested consultations with the US under the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism regarding the US's tariffs on Chinese imports under the Section 301 investigations and its Section 232 Tariffs on Aluminum and Steel imports, officially initiating the WTO dispute resolution procedure. From then on, in response to the US tariff hikes on imports from China, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced on additional tariffs on imports originating from the US on June 16, August 8, and September 18 in 2018 and on May 13 and August 23 in 2019 respectively. These were counter-measures against the US's tariff hikes on imports from China. The Chinese government had repeatedly stated that consultation on the basis of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit was the effective way to resolve trade differences and that any unilateral threat or blackmail would only lead to the intensification of conflicts and damage to the interests of all parties.

April 11

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Guiding Opinions on Supporting Hainan in Comprehensively Deepening the Reform and Opening up, endowing the Hainan Special Economic Zone a new mission of reform and opening up to develop itself into a pilot free trade zone and a free trade port with Chinese characteristics. On April 13, Xi Jinping addressed a meeting celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Hainan Province and the founding of the Hainan Special Economic Zone, pointing out that Hainan should strive to turn itself into a pilot zone for deepening the reform and opening up on all fronts, a pilot national ecological zone, an international tourism and consumption center and a major national strategic logistics zone, thus forming a new pattern of reform and opening up at a higher level.

April 12

The CPC Central Military Commission held a fleet review in the South China Sea. Xi Jinping reviewed the PLA Navy and delivered a speech, stressing that the PLA Navy must thoroughly implement the CPC's thought on building a strong army in the new era, firmly accelerate the modernization of the Navy, and make efforts to build the people's navy into a world-class navy.

April 16

The Ministry of Veteran Affairs of the People's Republic of China was established.

April 27

The 2nd Session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee adopted the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Heroes and Martyrs.

May 4

A meeting to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx was held. Xi Jinping delivered a speech, remarking that Marxism had remained a guiding ideology of the Party and the country, a powerful ideological weapon for Chinese to get to know the world, understand laws, pursue the truth and reform the world. In the new era, the CPC members should still learn from Marx, study Marxism and put it into practice, continue to uphold the great banner of Marxism, adhere to and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, and see that the promising prospects for human society envisaged by Marx and Engels vividly unfold across the country.

May 18–19

The National Conference on Ecological Environment Protection was convened. Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Conference, proposing the principle to advance ecological civilization in the new era and emphasizing the need to accelerate the establishment of an ecological civilization system. The Conference summarized and elaborated on Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, China had sped up its top-level design and systems construction for ecological civilization, successively launched the Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Ecological Civilization and the Overall Plan for the Reform of the Ecological Civilization System, and formulated over 40 reform proposals regarding the development of ecological civilization to comprehensively and systematically make deployments and arrangements with overall objectives, basic concepts, main principles, key tasks, and institutional guarantees. The NPC Standing Committee, the Supreme People's Court, and the Supreme People's Procuratorate set standards for the conviction of crimes relating environmental pollution and ecological damage, increased the intensity of punishment, and adopted a tough stance. Meanwhile, China had promoted green development, deepened the implementation of the “three major action plans” on prevention and control of air, water and soil pollutions, and took the lead in releasing China's Country-Based Program for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, implementing the National Plan for Tackling Climate Change (2014–2020), and depositing with the UN the instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

May 30

The State Council issued the Notice on Establishing a Central Adjustment System for Basic Pension Funds for Enterprise Employees.

June 9–10

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Qingdao Summit was held. On June 10, Xi Jinping presided over the Summit and delivered a speech, stressing the need to advocate innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, practice a security concept based on common good, comprehensiveness, cooperation, and sustainability, to pursue a vision of cooperation featuring openness, inclusiveness, mutual benefits and win-win outcomes, establish a civilizational viewpoint featuring equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness, follow a global governance philosophy of broad consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and further reform and improve the global governance system, and to join hands with all other countries to build a human community with a shared future.

June 15

The General Office of the State Council issued the Notice on Accomplishing the Cancellation of Certification Items. As of the end of April, 2019, different departments in various regions had cancelled en total over 13,000 certification items.

June 22–23

The Central Conference on Work Relating to Foreign Affairs was held. Xi Jinping gave a speech at the Conference, noting that, to fully grasp the international situation, we had to establish the right outlook on history, overall situation and one's position. He said that at present China was in the best period of development since modern times while the world was undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, with entanglements and interactions between the two situation. He stressed that it was imperative to carry out an in-depth analysis of the laws underlying changes to the world situation in a period of transition and to have an accurate understanding of the fundamental characteristics of China's external environment at this historical juncture so as to make overall plans to promote China's work on foreign affairs. The conference summarized and elaborated on Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy.

July 3

Xi Jinping gave a speech at the National Organizational Work Conference, stressing that the Party's organizational lines for the new era were to thoroughly implement the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, to make efforts to nurture quality officials who were loyal, integrated and responsible and to gather patriotic, devoted and talented all-rounders by focusing on the construction of the organizational system, following the criteria of both professional proficiency and moral integrity, putting moral integrity first and appointing talents on their merit, so as to provide a strong organizational guarantee for strengthening the Party's overall leadership and upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.

August 17–19

The Central Military Commission held a meeting on Party building in Beijing. Xi Jinping gave a speech, calling for efforts to unswervingly stick to the absolute leadership of the CPC over the army, forge strong and strict Party organizations, train high-quality officials and talents, and promote Party conduct and combat corruption so as to provide a solid political guarantee for the building of a strong military and fulfilling the missions of the military in the new era.

August 21

Xi Jinping addressed the national conference on the publicity and ideological work, pointing out that as socialism with Chinese characteristics had ushered in a new era, it was imperative to put the unity of thinking and strength at the core of publicity and ideological work. To do a good job in publicity and ideological work under the new circumstances, efforts should be devoted to consciously taking the mission of upholding the banner, gathering cohesion, nurturing talent, rejuvenating culture and showing a positive image.

September 1

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Opinions on the Overall Implementation of the Performance Budgeting System.

September 3–4

The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held. Xi Jinping presided over the Summit and delivered a keynote speech at its opening ceremony, proposing the building of a China-Africa community with a shared future to shoulder joint responsibility, pursue win-win cooperation, bring happiness to all, enjoy cultural prosperity, safeguard common security and promote human-nature harmony. The Summit adopted The Beijing Declaration—Toward an Even Stronger China-Africa Community with a Shared Future and The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Beijing Action Plan (2019–2021).

September 10

Xi Jinping addressed a national education conference, noting that education was a fundamental task of the country and the Party, which should target reform and innovation and aim to increase cohesion, improve personality, develop human, cultivate talent and benefit the people with a view to nurturing all-round socialist builders and successors excelling in morality, intelligence, physique, aesthetic judgment and working capability, speeding up the modernization of education, building the country into an educational power and running education to the satisfaction of the people.

October 20

The AG600, China's first domestically designed and built large amphibious plane for fire control and maritime search and rescue, made its maiden water surface flflight at the Zhanghe Airport in Jingmen, Hubei Province.

October 23

The launch ceremony for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the world's longest sea bridge, was held in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province. Xi Jinping attended the ceremony.

October 28

The CPC Central Committee issued the Work Regulations for the CPC Branches (For Trial Implementation).

November 1

Xi Jinping presided over the symposium for private enterprises and delivered a speech, emphasizing that to strengthen and develop the public sector of the economy was not contradictory to, but organically unified with, the country's policy of encouraging, supporting and guiding the development of the non-public sector. He urged Party committees and governments at all levels to establish a new type of cordial and clean relationship with businesses, regard supporting the development of private enterprises as an important task, and make ongoing efforts to create a better environment for the development of private enterprises in the course of China's economic growth.

November 5–10

The 1st China International Import Expo (CIIE) was held in Shanghai. On November 5, Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech, noting that the CIIE was so far the world's first import expo held at the national level and was a practical action by China to promote the construction of an open world economy and support economic globalization. He announced the involvement of a new area into the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the inauguration of a science and technology innovation board at the Shanghai Stock Exchange which would be an experimental site for China's registration-based IPO system, and support for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region, which would be elevated it to a national strategy. 

December 8

The CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the China's Education Modernization Plan 2035.

December 18

A conference to celebrate the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up was convened. Xi Jinping gave a speech, pointing out that reform and opening up was an effective way for the Party and the people to march forward to catch up with the times, an inevitable path to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, and a key move to determine the fate of contemporary China and to realize the Two Centenary Goals and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. At the Conference, 100 Chinese were honored with the China Reform Pioneer medals, and 10 foreigners received the China Reform Friendship medals.

From: Chronicle of the People's Republic of China (October 1949—September 2019), edited by The Institute of Party History and Literature of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, PP.294-308.