July

11

A commemoration of the 600th anniversary of the transoceanic voyages of Zheng He, a Ming Dynasty (1368-644) navigator, is held in Beijing. The Chinese Government sets July 11 as Maritime Day from 2005.

12

General Secretary Hu Jintao of the Central Committee of the CPC meets with a delegation of the Taiwan-based New Party in Beijing. The delegation, headed by Chairman Yok Mu-ming, visited the mainland to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

21

China announces the reform of its exchange rate regime by moving into a managed floating exchange rate regime based on market supply and demand with reference to a basket of currencies. The yuan appreciated 2 percent to be traded at 8.11 to the US dollar starting 7 PM that very day.