1979 in China
Events in the year 1979 in the People's Republic of China.
Incumbents
- Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party – Hua Guofeng
- Premier of the People's Republic of China – Hua Guofeng
- Chairman of the National People's Congress – Ye Jianying
- Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference – Deng Xiaoping
- Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China – Deng Xiaoping
Governors
- Governor of Anhui Province - Wan Li then Zhang Jingfu
- Governor of Fujian Province - Liao Zhigao then Ma Xingyuan
- Governor of Gansu Province - Song Ping then Li Dengying
- Governor of Guangdong Province - Wei Guoqing then Xi Zhongxun
- Governor of Guizhou Province - Ma Li
- Governor of Hebei Province - Liu Zihou
- Governor of Heilongjiang Province - Yang Yichen then Chen Lei
- Governor of Henan Province - Duan Junyi then Liu Jie
- Governor of Hubei Province - Chen Pixian then Han Ningfu
- Governor of Hunan Province - Mao Zhiyong then Sun Guozhi
- Governor of Jiangsu Province - Xu Jiatun then Hui Yuyu
- Governor of Jiangxi Province - Jiang Weiqing then Bai Dongcai
- Governor of Jilin Province - Wang Enmao
- Governor of Liaoning Province - vacant
- Governor of Qinghai Province - Tan Qilong then Zhang Guosheng
- Governor of Shaanxi Province - Wang Renzhong then Yu Mingtao
- Governor of Shandong Province - Bai Rubing then Su Yiran
- Governor of Shanxi Province - Wang Qian then Luo Guibo
- Governor of Sichuan Province - Zhao Ziyang then Lu Dadong
- Governor of Yunnan Province - An Pingsheng then Liu Minghui
- Governor of Zhejiang Province - Tie Ying then Li Fengping
Events
January
- January 1 — The United States broke diplomatic relations with Republic of China, and established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.
- January - The One Child Policy is announced and implemented
February
- February 17 – The People's Republic of China invades northern Vietnam, launching the Sino-Vietnamese War.
March
- March 5 – Zhuhai County was upgraded to Zhuhai City.
- March 14 – In China, a Hawker Siddeley Trident crashes into a factory near Beijing, killing at least 260.
September
- September 27 – Stars Art Exhibition, the first independent art exhibition, takes place in Beihai Park, Beijing
Births
- January 13 – Yang Wei, Badminton player
- February 9 – Zhang Ziyi, film actress
- February 17 – Xu Yunlong, footballer
- March 5 – Tang Gonghong, Chinese weightlifter
- March 12 – Liu Xuan, Gymnast
- March 14 – Gao Ling, badminton player
- May 15 – Li Yanfeng, discus thrower
- April 19 – Zhao Junzhe, footballer
- June 14 – Ma Ning, association football referee
- June 20 – Li Yi, footballer
- July 19 – Mo Huilan, gymnast
- August 15 – Tong Jian, pair skater
- August 27 – Tian Liang, diver
- September 18 – Bobo Chan, Musical artist
- October 5 – Gao Yuanyuan, actress and model
- October 7 – Tang Wei, actress
- December 10 – Yang Jianping, archer
- December 24 – Pang Qing, figure skater
- December 27 – Sa Dingding, folk singer and songwriter
Deaths
- January 15 — Yang Zhongjian, vertebrate paleontologist
- February 7
- *Su Zhenhua, general and politician
- *Cui Wei, film director and actor
- March 7 — Lei Chen, Taiwanese politician and dissident
- March 12 — Zheng Xiaocang, writer, translator, and educator
- March 30 — Tong Dizhou, embryologist
- May 27 — Yao Zhe, lieutenant general of the People's Liberation Army
- June 30 — Zhou Shidi, general of the People's Liberation Army
- July 1 — Huang Minlon, organic chemist and pharmaceutical scientist
- July 4 — Lee Wai Tong, Hong Kong and Chinese international association football player, head coach and former Vice President of FIFA
- August 1 — Li Ji, influential archaeologist
- August 14 — Wang Yun-wu, scholar of history and political science
- August 27 — Shi Jianqiao, assassin of the Warlord Sun Chuanfang
- September 25 — Zhou Libo, novelist and translator
- October 13 — Chang Kia-ngau, banker, politician and scholar
- December 3 — Zhang Guotao, revolutionary, founding member of the Chinese Communist Party and a rival to Mao Zedong