January 1 –CITIC, a state-owned investment enterprise of the Chinese government, buys Nations Energy Company, a Canadian petroleum extraction company, giving it a majority stake inKazMunayGas, the state-owned oil and gas company in Kazakhstan, forUSD $1.91 billion. The deal is highly controversial because of the amount of control China now has over Kazakhstan's natural resources. Kazakh Oil MinisterBaktykozha Izmukhambetov has criticized the deal since it was first considered in October 2006.
March 1 – A human case ofbird flu is confirmed in China.[7]
March 7 – ThePeople's Republic of China announces that its firstprobe to theMoon,Chang'e 1, will be launched later in 2007, with the eventual goal of landing a man on the moon by 2022. The probe is supposed to orbit the Moon at least three times.[8]
April 18 – Thirty-two steel workers are killed and two more injured inChina after aladle full of liquid steel failed, engulfing an adjacent room full of workers.[14]
July 5 – Twenty-five people died and 33 are injured in an explosion in akaraoke bar inTianshifu in northeastChina.[29] An investigation conducted the next day concludes that the explosion was caused by improperly stored explosives.[30]
July 7 – Over 800 landslides occurred following heavy rains in eastern Sichuan, leaving thousands of villagers inDaxian homeless.[31]
July 16 –China punishes 95 officials for allowing workers and children to labour inslave-like conditions inbrickkilns.[33]
July 18 – the city ofChongqing is hit with the largest rainstorm in the city's meteorological records, killing 32. 12 people are reported missing.[34]
July 20 –China shuts down a chemical plant associated with deaths inPanama from tainted medicine and two petfood plants associated with the deaths of pets in theUnited States.
August 5 – Thirty-four rail workers building atunnel inHubei provinceChina are trapped 200 metres underground following alandslide.[38]
August 8 – China'sInner Mongolia Autonomous Region celebrates its 60th anniversary. Chinese Vice-PresidentZeng Qinghong visits its capital,Hohhot, and participates in a series of large celebration events.[39]
August 9 –China temporarily bansexports from twotoy manufacturers whose products were banned or recalled in theUnited States and other countries.[40]
August 14 – Abridge under construction completely collapses inFenghuang County,Hunan Province,China, killing at least 47 people. 21 workers are injured, 13 are still missing.[42]
August 14 – China establishes a minimum living standard system to cover all rural residents in 2007. The system is designed to pull poor villagers out of poverty.[44]
September 12 – Thousands of ex-soldiers are rioting in thePeople's Republic of China in the cities of Baotou, Wuhan, and Baoji, breaking into cars, destroying classrooms, and setting fires. The riot is the largest protest since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest.[51]
