Lesson 2P.2.1

2P.2.1 PRC growth and the transformation of the state, 1962–1997 Quiz: AQA History, Unit 26

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 2P.2.1, PRC growth and the transformation of the state, 1962–1997: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA History (7042), Unit 26: 2P The Transformation of China, 1936–1997, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which two leaders favoured pragmatic economic policies in the early 1960s after the Great Leap Forward?

    • Zhou Enlai and Hua Guofeng
    • Lin Biao and Jiang Qing
    • Peng Dehuai and Chen Yun
    • Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping

  2. Which group of radicals based in Shanghai, including Jiang Qing, was prominent during the Cultural Revolution?

    • The Gang of Four in 1980
    • The Shanghai radicals
    • The Red Guards of Beijing
    • The Hundred Flowers group

  3. Which organisations, made up mainly of students, carried out attacks on the 'four olds' during the Cultural Revolution?

    • The Blue Shirts
    • The Red Guards
    • The Youth League
    • The Home Guard of the Shanghai commune

  4. Which figure, who had been Mao's designated successor, died in a plane crash in 1971 after a failed plot?

    • Hua Guofeng
    • Lin Biao
    • Zhou Enlai
    • Liu Shaoqi

  5. Which border conflict of 1969 deteriorated relations between China and the USSR?

    • The Korean armistice dispute
    • The Vietnam border incident of 1979
    • The clash at the Zhenbao Island
    • The Taiwan Strait crisis

  6. Which diplomatic event of 1971 opened links between the PRC and the USA?

    • The Shanghai Communiqué on Taiwan's independence
    • The Moscow Test Ban Treaty
    • The Helsinki Accords
    • Ping-pong diplomacy and Kissinger's visit

  7. Which international organisation seat was transferred from Taiwan to the PRC in 1971?

    • A seat on the League of Nations
    • A place on the World Bank board of Taiwan
    • The UN Security Council seat for China
    • A seat on the Warsaw Pact

  8. Who was the Chinese leader who succeeded Mao in 1976 and was briefly in charge before Deng consolidated power?

    • Peng Dehuai
    • Hua Guofeng
    • Lin Biao
    • Jiang Qing

  9. Which group was arrested in October 1976, ending the radical faction's power?

    • The Politburo of 1956
    • The Gang of Four
    • The Shanghai Commune
    • The Red Guards

  10. Which programme of modernisation, first announced in 1975, covered agriculture, industry, defence and science?

    • The Hundred Flowers campaign
    • The Five Anti campaign
    • The Great Leap Forward
    • The Four Modernisations

  11. Which reform allowed peasant households to farm land under contract and keep surplus output?

    • The Great Leap People's Commune
    • The state farm system
    • The household responsibility system
    • The collective commune system

  12. Which policy of Deng Xiaoping in 1980 created areas where foreign investment was encouraged?

    • The Hundred Flowers campaign
    • State purchasing monopolies
    • Collective farms
    • Special Economic Zones

  13. Which political movement in spring 1989 ended in a violent crackdown in Beijing in June?

    • The Hundred Flowers campaign
    • The Tiananmen Square demonstrations
    • The Cultural Revolution rally
    • The Shanghai Commune

  14. Which factor best explains the limits of political reform under Deng's rule?

    • The CCP kept a monopoly on power and suppressed independent political movements
    • The CCP gave up its monopoly and held free elections in 1980
    • Political reform was complete by 1979 after the Gang of Four trials
    • The army removed Communist leaders in 1985 and replaced them with a federal government

  15. Which event of 1997 brought a major territory back under Chinese sovereignty?

    • The return of Hong Kong to China
    • The return of Tibet to Mongolia
    • The return of Taiwan to China
    • The return of Macau to Portugal

  16. Which measure reflected China's growing role in global institutions by the 1990s?

    • Membership of the IMF and World Bank
    • Rejection of all diplomatic ties with the USA
    • Leaving the UN Security Council
    • Withdrawal from all international trade agreements

  17. Which statement best describes China's economic growth between 1978 and 1997?

    • Rapid growth driven by market reforms, foreign investment and trade
    • Growth driven entirely by state-owned heavy industry with no reforms
    • Collapse of agriculture and industry with a return to the Great Leap model
    • Stagnation with no change in output or trade

  18. Which factor best explains the outcome of the power struggle after Mao's death?

    • A referendum that chose Hua Guofeng as leader
    • Deng's backing from the party elite
    • The restoration of the Gang of Four to power in 1978
    • A military coup led by Lin Biao in 1976

  19. Which statement best summarises the state's transformation in the PRC between 1962 and 1997?

    • Complete abolition of the Communist Party's role in government
    • A return to the policies of the Great Leap Forward
    • A transition to multi-party democracy by 1980
    • Economic modernisation under one-party rule

  20. Which statement best explains the historical significance of the Cultural Revolution?

    • It led directly to China's entry into the Common Market
    • It damaged institutions, education and society
    • It ended all disputes between the CCP factions for good
    • It produced a stable democratic government with independent courts

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