Republic of China (1912–1949)
On 1 January 1912, the Republic of China was established, meaning the end of the Qing Dynasty. Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (the KMT or Nationalist Party) was proclaimed provisional president of the republic. However, the presidency was later given to Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general, who had ensured the defection of the entire Beiyang Army from the Qing Empire to the revolution.
After Yuan Shikai's defeat as calling himself Emperor of China in 1916, China's regime became fragmented. Warlords in various regions exercised actual control over their respective territories. In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang, under Chiang Kai-shek, was able to reunify the country under its own control, moving the nation's capital to Nanking (modern day Nanjing) and implementing "political tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen's program for transforming China into a modern, democratic state. Effectively, political tutelage meant one-party rule by the Kuomintang.
The Communist Party of China (CCP) led by Mao Zedong ,gained victory in the Chinese Civil War with the Kuomingtang. On 1 October 1949, the CCP established the People's Republic of China as a Socialist State.

 

People's Republic of China (1949–present)
After the Chinese Civil War, mainland China underwent a series of disruptive socioeconomic movements starting in the late 1950s with the Great Leap Forward and continuing in the 1960s with the Cultural Revolution that left much of its education system and economy in shambles. With the death of its first generation Communist Party leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, the PRC began implementing a series of political and economic reforms advocated by Deng Xiaoping that eventually formed the foundation for mainland China's rapid economic development starting in the 1990s.
In 1997, Hong Kong was ceded to the PRC by the United Kingdom, and in 1999, Macau was handed over by Portugal.
China became more influential economically in the 1990s and 2000s and was beginning to be widely recognized. By 2006, China had become the world's fourth largest economy. At the same time, numerous social problems emerged and intensified. As President Jiang Zemin gradually retired from his position of power, "fourth-generation" leaders, led by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, faced with increasing social unrest, attempted to steer the country towards a new direction. From the path of focusing solely on economic development, Hu and Wen placed focus on creating an overall balance under the idea of the Scientific Development Concept to create a harmonious society. In this process, there was an unprecedented shift in stance towards favoring rural development and farmers, as well as other generally populist policies. And China hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics successfully in 2008. Now confronting the economic crisis, China is making its effort and is cooperating with other nations.