The Chinese reunification was a process that began with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 and was finally completed in 2000 when Macao, the last remaining part of the former Chinese Empire to be under foreign rule, returned to Chinese sovereignty.
The Chinese reunification was driven by several powerful forces, both within China and beyond its borders. Domestically, the political, economic and social upheaval following the end of the second world war saw a surge of nationalist sentiment among Chinese people. The victory of the Communists in the Chinese Civil War in 1949 enabled the new PRC government to begin the process of unifying the country, including reasserting control over territories previously held by other countries or autonomous regions.
Furthermore, in the international arena, the end of World War II saw a dramatic shift of power in the East Asian region. This was visible in the victory of the PRC in the Chinese Civil War, the emergence of a divided Korea, and the establishment of two new Communist states: the People’s Republic of China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1949. Additionally, the worldwide trend of decolonization that emerged in the 1950s caused many Western powers to gradually withdraw from their holdings in the Far East, further contributing to the reunification process.
The process of reuniting the various parts of the Chinese Empire took considerable time, with most areas coming back under Chinese control in the years immediately following the Chinese Civil War. The return of Hong Kong in 1997 and Macao in 1999 were the final major steps in the process of reunification. In both cases, the transition was made possible by negotiated agreements between the UK and China, with further negotiations being facilitated by the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Both Hong Kong and Macao then remained under Chinese sovereignty, but retained considerable autonomy over their political and economic systems.
In the end, the Chinese reunification was a long and complex process, the success of which was attributable to a combination of factors both within and outside China. Domestically, the victory of the Communists in the Chinese Civil War provided an opportunity to reestablish Chinese control over the various parts of their former empire. At the same time, international events such as decolonization played a significant role in paving the way for the eventual return of previously foreign-controlled areas. The final unification of all the Chinese regions in 2000 marked the ultimate success of a process that began with the establishment of the PRC in 1949.