January 2 – The border demarcation with markers was officially completed between China andVietnam, signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Dung on the Vietnamese side and his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, on the Chinese side.[3]
Chinasurpasses Germany to become thethird largest economy,[8] based on revised 2007 GDP figures. Chinese officials published the revised figures for 2007 financial year in which growth happened at 13 percent instead of 11.9 percent (provisional figures). China's gross domestic product stood at US$3.4 trillion while Germany's GDP was US$3.3 trillion for 2007. Based on these figures, in 2007 China recorded its fastest growth since 1994 when the GDP grew by 13.1 percent.[9]
A Taiwanese government official and a legislator's aide have been arrested inTaipei for allegedly leaking state secrets to Mainland China. The information allegedly leaked included details on the process taken during the transition of power betweenChen Shui-bian andMa Ying-Jeou.[10]
February 17 – The personal details of a large number of Chinese celebrities, which includedID card photos, personal identification numbers andphone numbers, were leaked onto the Internet. This is not the first time such an incident has occurred, with prior minor events occurring throughout 2003 to 2008.[16]
March 11 – Minor incident near theDiaoyu Islands as aJSDF patrol boat moved close to the islands. Some sources indicate that both sides scrambled aircraft, involvingPLAAFSu-30MKK and JapaneseF-15 aircraft, however the situation did not escalate.[20]
March 17 – China's largest fishery patrolChina Yuzheng 311 (中国渔政311船) arrives inYongxing Island,Xisha Islands,[21] asserting control over the disputed islands in theSouth China Sea. The territory is disputed withVietnam.
March 19 – Japan 2012 visa permit consider listing Taiwanese people living in Japan as coming from Taiwan (independent state), not China.[22]
April 16 – The government of the People's Republic of China releases economic data for Q1 2009, showing a rise in GDP by 6.1%, fall in CPI by 1.2% during March, PPI down 4.6%, industrial output by 5.1%, retail sales up 15%, and fixed asset investment up 28.8%.[25]
April 22 –
Chinese researchers conclude that theGreat Wall of China is 2,851.8 km longer than previously estimated, after analysing data obtained from satellite imagery.[26]
June 5 – Australian mining companyRio Tinto breaks a deal for Chinese state-ownedChinalco to purchase a larger stake the company, with support by rival Australian mining companyBHP Billiton. Rio Tinto is expected to pay a US$195 million breaking fee according to the contract signed earlier by the two parties. Rio Tinto controls large Iron ore reserves in Australia.[43] Since early 2008, Chinalco holds 9% of ownership of Rio Tinto.
Republic of China PresidentMa Ying-jeou expresses his bid forKuomintang leadership, as he registered as the sole candidate for the election of the KMT chairmanship. The election is scheduled for July 26, where the new chairman would take office on September 12. If his bid succeeds, he would become the leader of the KMT, as well as the head-of-state of theRepublic of China; in effect, this would officially allow Ma to be able to meet with People's Republic of China PresidentHu Jintao (who is also theGeneral Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party) and other PRC delegates, as he would be able to represent the KMT as leader of a Chinese political party, rather than as head-of-state of a political entity unrecognized by the PRC.[48]
July 10 – FourRio Tinto employees, including one Australian citizen, arrested in Shanghai for corruption and espionage.[50][51] One of the arrested, Australian citizenStern Hu is suspected of stealing Chinese state secrets.[52]
July 16 – Sun Danyong, a Chinese factory worker employed byApple's manufacturing partnerFoxconn, committed suicide after reporting to have lost a prototype model for a fourth generationiPhone.[54]
July 28 – Chinese border police seize 70 kilograms ofVanadium metal bound forNorth Korea, a material used to manufacture missile components. 200,000RMB of the metal was seized at the Dandong border between China and North Korea.[59]
September 18 – Chinawins a “disclosure agreement" vote, which prevents theAsian Development Bank from formally acknowledgingArunachal Pradesh as part ofIndia. All ADB activities in Arunachal Pradesh have effectively ceased.[69][70]
September 25 – Xinjiang Kashgar Delicacy City restaurant exploded in Beijing.[71]
China displaces the U.S. as the largest overall buyer of Japanese goods in 2009.[83][84]
Despite requests from the British government forclemency,Akmal Shaikh, a British national, is executed in the People's Republic of China fortrafficking heroin.
^陈琳追思会 陈琳跳楼自杀-搜狐音乐.music.yule.sohu.com (in Chinese). 2009. Retrieved14 June 2014.
^Krauthammer, Charles (November 2, 2009)."Nien Cheng, 1915-2009".Washington Post. Archived fromthe original on November 3, 2009. Retrieved14 June 2014.
