Unit 12: Paper 3 — History of Asia and Oceania (HL)
Topic 12.12: The People's Republic of China (1949–2020) Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB History (2028) Topic 12.12. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.2 - Q3
What was the immediate diplomatic purpose of 'ping-pong diplomacy' in April 1971?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.2 - Q5
What decision did the Chinese Communist Party make at the Third Plenum in December 1978?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.3 - Q3
In which year did China join the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.1 - Q3
Which reform of 1950 banned arranged marriages, child betrothal, and concubines, and gave women the legal right to choose a spouse, divorce, and own property?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.2 - Q2
What happened in 1969 that showed the Sino-Soviet split had escalated from ideological argument into open military confrontation?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.3 - Q2
Deng Xiaoping's Four Modernisations targeted which four areas?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.3 - Q4
Which coastal city is described as reform's showcase, growing from a fishing town of about 30,000 people in 1980 into a city of millions as a Special Economic Zone?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.1 - Q1
In which year did Mao Zedong declare the founding of the People's Republic of China from Tiananmen Gate?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.1 - Q5
What is the most widely accepted estimate given for the number of deaths caused by the Great Famine of 1959–61?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.2 - Q1
Which event directly triggered China's decision to send the 'People's Volunteers' into the Korean War in October 1950?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.3 - Q1
Which leader emerged as China's paramount figure within two years of Mao Zedong's death in September 1976?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.2 - Q4
According to the Shanghai Communiqué signed during Nixon's February 1972 visit, what did both sides agree on?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.1 - Q2
What was the estimated number of people branded 'Rightists' during the Anti-Rightist Campaign that followed the Hundred Flowers Campaign?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.1 - Q4
At the 1959 Lushan Conference, which senior figure was purged after raising honest concerns about the Great Leap Forward?
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Unlock Question15Discuss the view15 marks
2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.3 - Q8
Discuss the view that the one-child policy did more long-term damage to China than good.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.3 - Q5
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013, is most closely associated with which Chinese port project cited as an example of 'debt-trap diplomacy'?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.1 - Q9
To what extent do you agree with the claim that the 1950 Marriage Law achieved a genuine social revolution for women in Mao's China?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.3 - Q10
Evaluate the claim that the Belt and Road Initiative is best understood as generous development partnership rather than a strategy of Chinese control over other states.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.2 - Q8
Discuss the view that 'rapprochement with the United States in 1971-72 was driven mainly by Mao's fear of the Soviet Union, rather than by any genuine change in China's view of the USA.'
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 12.12.2 - Q6
Evaluate the claim that 'China's intervention in the Korean War (1950-53) was a strategic success for Mao Zedong's new state, despite its enormous human cost.'
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