UN Charter signed
Postwar legal order baseline for force, sovereignty, and collective security.
Chronology
Follow doctrinal change through events and documents.
Timeline entries connect official sources, international legal materials, and state practice so readers can see how arguments and institutions develop over time.
PRC seated at the United Nations
China's representation in universal institutions shifts to the PRC.
UNCLOS opened for signature
Maritime legal order becomes central to later Chinese practice.
Hong Kong handover
One country, two systems becomes a major sovereignty and legal-order issue.
China joins the WTO
China enters the multilateral trade law system.
Anti-Secession Law adopted
Domestic legislation links Taiwan policy, sovereignty, and possible force.
Peaceful development white paper
China articulates a comprehensive peaceful development narrative.
Belt and Road Initiative announced
BRI begins as a major ordering project.
China issues South China Sea jurisdiction position paper
China sets out objections to arbitral jurisdiction.
BRI Vision and Actions document issued
The initiative receives a formal policy architecture.
AIIB Articles signed
China-backed development finance institution enters the legal landscape.
South China Sea arbitral award issued
Major inflection point in China's relationship with compulsory dispute settlement.
Xi Jinping speaks at Davos
China presents itself as a defender of globalization.
China and the WTO white paper
Official account of WTO compliance and reform position.
White paper on China-US trade consultations
Trade conflict becomes central to China's critique of unilateralism.
Export Control Law adopted
Economic security law becomes more systematic.
MOFCOM blocking rules issued
China creates blocking mechanisms for foreign extraterritorial measures.
Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law adopted
Counter-sanctions become statutory.
New Taiwan white paper released
Taiwan policy is restated in the new era vocabulary.
Global Security Initiative concept paper issued
China offers a branded security governance framework.
Saudi-Iran rapprochement facilitated in Beijing
China highlights mediation as order-building practice.
Community of shared future white paper
Official normative account of China's global-order proposal.
BRI white paper released
BRI is framed as a pillar of a shared future.
China participates in ICJ climate advisory proceedings
China engages legal argument on climate obligations and development equity.
Macau Basic Law adopted
The Macau SAR constitutional framework is adopted before the 1999 handover.
Macau handover
Macau becomes the second SAR governed under one country, two systems.
Hong Kong one country, two systems white paper released
The State Council presents an official interpretation of central authority and Hong Kong autonomy.
Hong Kong national security law adopted
National security becomes a central controversy in the legal meaning of one country, two systems.