Timeline Wednesday 19 February 1997

Events on Wednesday 19 February 1997 1

• 1904 – 1997 Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997) Died 19 February 1997, aged 92 Deng Xiaoping was the paramount leader of China from the late 1970s, who launched the economic reforms that opened the country to market forces and foreign investment. He held no formal head-of-state title in his later years but remained China's most powerful figure. His policies transformed China into a major global economic power.