2003 in China

Events in the year 2003 in China.

Incumbents

 * Party General Secretary - Hu Jintao
 * President – Jiang Zemin to March 15, Hu Jintao
 * Premier – Zhu Rongji to March 16, Wen Jiabao
 * Vice President – Hu Jintao to March 15, Zeng Qinghong
 * Vice Premier – Li Lanqing to March 6, Huang Ju
 * Congress Chairman - Li Peng to March 15, Wu Bangguo
 * Conference Chairman - Li Ruihuan to March 14, Jia Qinglin

Governors

 * Governor of Anhui Province – Wang Jinshan
 * Governor of Fujian Province – Lu Zhangong
 * Governor of Gansu Province – Lu Hao
 * Governor of Guangdong Province – Lu Ruihua then Huang Huahua
 * Governor of Guizhou Province – Shi Xiushi
 * Governor of Hainan Province – Wang Xiaofeng then Wei Liucheng
 * Governor of Hebei Province – Ji Yunshi
 * Governor of Heilongjiang Province – Song Fatang then Zhang Zuoji
 * Governor of Henan Province – Li Keqiang then Li Chengyu
 * Governor of Hubei Province – Luo Qingquan
 * Governor of Hunan Province – Zhang Yunchuan then Zhou Bohua
 * Governor of Jiangsu Province – Liang Baohua
 * Governor of Jiangxi Province – Huang Zhiquan
 * Governor of Jilin Province – Wang Min (until December), Han Changfu (starting December)
 * Governor of Liaoning Province – Bo Xilai
 * Governor of Qinghai Province – Song Xiuyan
 * Governor of Shaanxi Province – Jia Zhibang
 * Governor of Shandong Province – Zhang Gaoli then Han Yuqun
 * Governor of Shanxi Province – Liu Zhenhua
 * Governor of Sichuan Province – Zhang Zhongwei
 * Governor of Yunnan Province – Xu Rongkai
 * Governor of Zhejiang Province – Xi Jinping (until January), Lü Zushan (starting January)

January

 * January 7 to January 8 – Hefei student protests occur, marking the largest student protests since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

February

 * February 24 – 2003 Bachu earthquake: An earthquake measuring 6.3 in magnitude occurred in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in northwest China, killing 191 people and 291 hospitalised. Almost 10,000 homes were leveled by the earthquake.

March

 * March 14 – A smartphone and portable audio player brand, Meizu was founded by Jack Wong in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province.
 * March 15 – Hu Jintao becomes President of the People's Republic of China, replacing Jiang Zemin.

June

 * June 1 – The People's Republic of China begins filling the lake behind the massive Three Gorges Dam, raising the water level near the dam over 100 meters.

October

 * October 15 – China successfully launches Shenzhou 5, their first manned space mission, becoming the third country in the world to have independent human spaceflight capability after the Soviet Union and the United States.

December

 * December 23 - A PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion in Chongqing, 234 people lives.

Births

 * 6 March – Long Daoyi, Chinese diver

Deaths

 * February 11 – Ma Sanli, Chinese comedian (born 1914)
 * March 17 – Su Buqing, Chinese mathematician and educator (born 1902)
 * April 1 – Zhang Guorong, Cantonese singer and actor (born 1956)
 * June 17 – Zheng Wenguang, science fiction author (born 1929)
 * July 5 – Zhang Aiping, Chinese communist military leader (born 1908)
 * October 25 – Yao Guang, diplomat, foreign ambassador (born 1921)
 * November 15 – T. Y. Lin, Chinese-born civil engineer (born 1912)
 * November 19 – Shi Zhecun, Chinese author (born 1905)
 * December 27 – Ying Ruocheng, Chinese actor, director, playwright and Vice Minister of Culture from 1986 to 1990 (born 1929)