Many ancient man-like bones and other remains from several hundred thousand years ago have been found in various parts of China. Neolithic agriculture settlements have been identified along the Huanghe basin in 5000 B.C.. Bronze metallurgy was used in ancient times in China and reached its peak in the Shang Dynasty (1500 B.C.-1000 B.C.). Many dynasties and ruling families contributed to China's history. China was isolated and stagnant for a long period of time making it weak and backward. Britain, Russia, and Japan took this opportunity to create disunity and isolation so as to control China. China eliminated foreign control in 1912. China has a long history of conflict with its Asian neighbor, Japan. China had two emerging parties battle it out with the communists, eventually wining and the Kuomintang government moving to Taiwan in 1949. Mao Zedong brought a revolution and new party to control in 1949. China and the USSR signed a 30 year treaty of "friendship, alliance and mutual assistance." The U.S. refused to recognize The People's Republic of China since the U.S. wanted to limit the spread of communism. During the Korean War the U.S. was in conflict with China. In the 1960s the USSR and China broke off from each other forgetting the treaty they had signed. In 1971, the United Nations removed Taiwan from the General Assembly and the Security Council and replaced it with the People's Republic of China. President Nixon, of the U.S., visited China in 1972. Finally in 1978 the U.S. formally recognized the People's Republic of China as the true China, not Taiwan, which calls itself the Republic of China. Relations between the U.S. and China have improved greatly. Mao's widow, Jiang Quing, and other "Gang of Four" members ruled China after Mao Zedong's death but people were not happy with this regime. A trial was held and the group was convicted of "committing crimes during the "Cultural Revolution" in 1981. Today, China is rapidly become a modern industrialized nation of the world. @
