Which country was the third to successfully launch a manned spacecraft?

Since 1956 the Chinese have had a space program which was aided early on from 1957-1960 by the Soviets. They were provided missile technology experts and missiles to study from. In 1965 plans were made to launch a human into space by 1979, and in 1967 the plans were made for a 4-human spacecraft. "East is Red" was launched on April 24, 1970 and was the first satellite to be launched by the Chinese. In 1974 the plan for human spaceflight was scrapped when policy makers decided that applications satellites were more important and competing with the US and USSR wasn't as important. In late 1986, the 863 Project was started which had a focus on military applications, but also had a goal for human spaceflight.

China's first attempt at a crewed spacecraft, Shuguang, was abandoned after years of development, but on October 15, 2003, China became the third nation to develop an indigenous human spaceflight capability when Yang Liwei entered orbit aboard Shenzhou 5.

The US Pentagon released a report in 2006, detailing concerns about China's growing presence in space, including its capability for military action. In 2007 China tested a ballistic missile designed to destroy satellites in orbit, which was followed by a US demonstration of a similar capability in 2008.