Alternative History
People's Republic of China
中华人民共和国
Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó

Timeline: The Hammer, The Sickle, The Earth
Preceded by October 1, 1949-1969 Succeeded by
Republic of China Soviet Union
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag of the PRC National Emblem
Location of People's Republic of China
Map of the PRC including Mongolia. Beijing in red dot.
Anthem "March of the Volunteers"
Capital Beijing
Largest city Shanghai
Other cities Guanzhou, Chongqing, Shenyang, Lhasa, Urumqi, Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, Kaoshung
Language Mandarin Chinese
Religion
  main
 
State atheism
  others Buddhism, Christianity, Islam
Ethnic Group Han Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, Turkic, Xibe, Tibetan, Korean, Russian
Government Unitary socialist one-party state
  Legislature National People's Congress

The People's Republic of China was a large communist state located on Mainland China. The country was formed on October 1, 1949 after pushing the Nationalists to the island of Taiwan at the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War. On the request of KPA General Choi Yong-Kun, Mao Zedong sent the People's Volunteer Army alongside the USSR's Red Army to Korea. The PVA was under the command of Chinese general Peng Dehuai. The Red Forces successfully evicted the United Nations forces from the Korean peninsula. The PVA also attacked the allied states of Japan, the Philippines, and French Indochina; occupying the latter two. In August 1951, the Sao Paulo Peace Accords was signed. The Soviet Bloc emerged victorious; this ended China's 100 Years of Humiliation from the West.

China's victory over the West during the Third World War ensured global prestige worldwide. The country was seen as a symbol of resistance against capitalism: from a poor, ragged nation to a strong, authoritarian state that challenged the West. Mao initiated economic programs throughout the 1950s to the 1960s. However, this would caused the economy of China to become worse than it was. The disastrous Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution would severely affect China's superpower status. In the late 1960s, Mao would declare the Soviet Union a "traitorous, revisionist group." China declared it would join the non-aligned communist countries alongside with Albania and the DPRK. China and the USSR were at odds during the Sino-Indian war, which China emerged victorious despite Soviet support to India. Things turned for the worse in 1969 when China and the USSR fought over Zhenbao Island on the Ussuri River, causing the Sino-Soviet War. Soviet forces, already superior in number and technology, came storming through Manchuria and Xinjiang. They easily crushed any PLA resistance and has Beijing under siege. The ancient capital was then shelled by artillery from all sides. Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, and several high-ranking Chinese Communist Party officials were killed in the bombardment. Without a clear successor of leadership, China soon surrendered to the USSR. The Mainland was then divided into several SSRs, of which Beijing became the capital of the Han SSR. Tibet gained independence, providing the Tibetan leadership would not oppose the USSR.