1978 in China

Decades:	1950s; 1960s; 1970s; 1980s; 1990s;
See also:	Other events of 1978; History of China • Timeline • Years

Events in the year 1978 in the People's Republic of China.

Incumbents

December 18 to 22 — 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party was held. The conference marked the beginning of the "Reform and Opening Up" policy.^[1]

SIUI (Shantou Institute of Ultrasonic Instruments Co., Ltd) – ultrasound manufacturer is founded.^[2]

January 17 — Wu Mi, one of the founders of Chinese comparative literature, critic, redologist, educator and poet (b. 1894)
February 2 — Tang Chun-i, philosopher (b. 1909)
February 3 — Jiang Lifu, mathematician and educator (b. 1890)
March 27 — Li Jinxi, linguist and educator (b. 1890)
April 20 — Lo Hsiang-lin, one of the most renowned researchers in Hakka language and culture (b. 1906)
April 25 — Peng Shaohui, general of the People's Liberation Army (b. 1906)
May 15
- Shang Zhen, general of the National Revolutionary Army (b. 1888)
- Ouyang Qin, politician (b. 1900)
June 12 — Guo Moruo, author, poet, historian, archaeologist, and government official (b. 1892)
June 30 — Yuan Muzhi, actor and director (b. 1909)
August 3 — Luo Ruiqing, politician, army officer and general of the People's Liberation Army (b. 1906)
December 1 — Lu Kanru, scholar of classical Chinese literature (b. 1903)