May

1

China's Lenovo Group and the American behemoth IBM announce in Beijing that Lenovo has completed the acquisition of the PC unit of IBM, marking the birth of the third largest PC maker in the world.

5

At the invitation of the Central Committee of the CPC and General Secretary Hu Jintao, James Soong Chu-yu, Chairman of Taiwan’s People First Party, heads a 50-member delegation to conduct a nine-day mainland visit. During the visit, Hu and Soong held talks in Beijing.

6

The 48th World Table Tennis Championships concludes in Shanghai. China captured all five gold medals at the tournament. By the end of the Shanghai competition, China had a tally of 100.5 golds (one women's doubles title was won by a Chinese player paired with a Korean partner) since the first World Championships in London in 1926.

15

The first batch of 33-ton fruit from Taiwan arrives at Fuzhou’s Mawei Port in the eastern mainland province of Fujian, in the wake of visits to the Chinese mainland by two opposition leaders in the island--Lien Chan, Chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang Party, and James Soong Chu-yu, Chairman of the People First Party. Earlier, the mainland announced an increase in the access to fruits from Taiwan to 18 species from the previous 12, and to offer zero tariffs on at least 10 species.

15

Chinese players win back the Sudirman Cup in badminton, defeating Indonesia 3-0 in the Ninth World Mixed Team Championships to lift the cup for a record fifth time in Beijing. China also makes badminton history as the first nation to hold three team trophies--the Sudirman, Thomas and Uber Cups--at the same time.

16-18

The Ninth Fortune Global Forum is held in Beijing, with the theme "China and the New Asian Century." The 2005 forum is the third event held in China, after Shanghai in 1999 and Hong Kong in 2001.

30

Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai announces the suspension of export tariffs on 81 categories of textile products, from June 1, 2005.