China's Communist Party has defied the odds to retain firm control of power for 70 years, adapting to a changing world to outlast its comrades in the Soviet Union.

As the People's Republic of China prepares to celebrate its anniversary on Tuesday, here is a look at how the party has evolved over the years.

- Turbulent decades -

For almost three decades, China had its own style of rule: Maoism.

Under the regime of PRC founder Mao Zedong, the state took over industries and farmers were organised into collectives.

The Great Leap Forward in 1958 -- a mass mobilisation of labour to boost agricultural and industrial production -- ended with the deaths of tens of millions of people in famine.

Mao launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966, a movement to demolish his political rivals which also turned into a disaster, with youthful Red Guards wreaking havoc across the country.

- Opening up -

Two years after Mao's death, the Party abandoned Maoism and launched its "reform and opening up" policy under new paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1978.

The economy thrived following a series of market-oriented policies that allowed private capital and foreign investments.

The Party has had a "certain pragmatic recognition that regime survival depends upon economic performance, and economic performance requires interaction with the world economy," said Sam Crane, a professor specialising in Chinese politics at Williams College in the US.

Millions of people have been pulled out of poverty while the country now boasts hundreds of billionaires and major homegrown companies such as internet giants Alibaba and Tencent.

- Tight control -

Under this "socialism with Chinese characteristics", Ferraris roar down the streets of major cities where people can shop at luxury stores like Gucci.

But one thing has not changed -- the Communist Party (CPC) holds tight to the reins of the economy.

Xi made clear at an exhibition on the 70th anniversary on Monday that the country's historic achievements "fully demonstrate that only the CPC can lead China," according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Party "cells" are present in private companies and state-owned firms remain major players in the economy.

Even Alibaba's billionaire founder, Jack Ma, is among the party's 90.6 million members.

What if Karl Marx travelled through time to see today's China?

"If Marx came back I think he would say that it is not 'socialist'. That is, it is not moving in the historical direction of 'communism' but has settled into a rather rigid 'state capitalism' with strong authoritarian elements," Crane said.

- Mao and Xi 'Thought' -

Another break from Mao was the end of one-man rule.

Deng backed a system of "collective" leadership and orderly succession following his death in 1997.

Jiang Zemin served two five-year terms as president, and his successor Hu Jintao complied with the new tradition.

But Xi has turned back the clock to become the most powerful leader since Mao.

Like the "Great Helmsman" before him, Xi has benefited from a state media-crafted cult of personality.

The country's founder had "Mao Zedong Thought". The current leader enshrined "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" in the constitution.

Mao had the "Little Red Book". Xi has his 21st century version -- an app dubbed "Study Xi", featuring his teachings.

Xi has overseen a crackdown on graft that has punished more than 1.5 million party officials -- a popular move among ordinary citizens but seen by observers as a chance to purge rivals.

Xi could be here to stay with the removal of presidential term limits.

- Crackdown party -

The opening of the economy has not been accompanied by political reforms.

China marked another anniversary this year, one that the party made sure was not commemorated -- the 30th anniversary of the brutal repression of pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square.

The government has even tightened its grip on society under Xi, detaining activists, stepping up internet censorship, and refusing to free dissident and Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo even while he was dying of cancer.

Critics fear authorities are increasingly using China's development of technology such as facial recognition to monitor citizens.

In the northwest region of Xinjiang, the mostly Muslim Uighur ethnic group has learned the hard way what it means to run afoul of the government.

More than one million people there are said to have been placed in internment camps in the name of combatting terrorism.

70 years of Communist China
Beijing (AFP) Sept 25, 2019 - Key dates in the history of communist China, founded 70 years ago.

- 1949: communist republic declared -

After the defeat of the nationalists in a civil war, Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong proclaims the establishment of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

The nationalists flee to the island of Taiwan and form a government in Taipei.

In the Hundred Flowers campaign of 1956-1957, Mao urges intellectuals to criticise the Communist Party, later sending 500,000 of those who speak out to labour camps.

- 1958: Great Leap Forward -

Mao implements the Great Leap Forward campaign to overhaul the agrarian economy through industrialisation and collective farming.

It results in economic catastrophe and a three-year famine in which as many as 45 million people perish.

In 1959 Beijing sends soldiers to crush a revolt in Tibet against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, flees to India.

In 1964 China obtains the nuclear bomb.

- 1966: Cultural Revolution begins -

Mao launches the decade-long Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution ostensibly to purge capitalists to create social equality, but also to remove his political rivals.

The drive sees armies of youthful Red Guards targeting anyone deemed to be part of the bourgeoisie, including intellectuals and academics.

It unleashes chaos, with millions of people persecuted, imprisoned or killed until the army re-establishes order in 1969.

- 1971: UN recognition -

Beijing takes China's seat at the United Nations, which had previously been held by Taipei.

It becomes one of five countries to have a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.

- 1976: Gang of Four arrested -

Mao dies in September 1976 and the next month the "Gang of Four" -- powerful party members who directed his Cultural Revolution and include his wife -- are arrested.

They are accused of being "anti-Party and anti-socialist", and sentenced to long jail terms.

The next supreme leader, Deng Xiaoping, initiates economic reforms.

- 1989: Tiananmen Square crackdown -

Troops open fire on students in peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

The death toll is estimated at between several hundred to over a thousand.

- 1997: Hong Kong returned -

Britain returns Hong Kong to China at the end of a 99-year lease and with the pledge that the commercial and financial hub will be able to maintain a high degree of autonomy for 50 years.

- 2001: China joins the WTO -

China joins the World Trade Organisation.

In 2003 China sends its first man to space.

In 2010 China overtakes Japan as the world's second biggest economy after the United States.

- 2018: authoritarian turn -

In March China's parliament endorses a move by Xi Jinping -- in power since 2012 -- to abolish a 10-year limit on presidential terms.

Xi's name is also added to the constitution, enhancing the authority of China's most powerful leader since Mao.

- 2018: Uighur alarm -

The UN accuses China in August of detaining up to one million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in "reeducation" camps as part of a long-running crackdown.

Chinese authorities say the camps are being used to halt separatist sentiments and religious extremism.

- 2019: Hong Kong protests -

Hong Kong is rocked by months of massive and increasingly violent protests sparked by a government bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China.

Pro-democracy protests continue even after the bill is withdrawn in September, in the biggest challenge to China's rule since the 1997 handover.

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China then and now: the PRC at 70
Beijing (AFP) Sept 25, 2019
As the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China approaches, the country is looking very different from when the Communist Party seized power. Here are some of the key ways in which the country - and citizens - have changed since the PRC was founded on October 1, 1949: City Living Some 70 years ago, the vast majority of Chinese people were rural, with just 10 percent of the population residing in cities. By 2019, China is a country of urbanites, with at least s ... read more