[9][10] After criticism of the misleading name appeared in various Chinese media, some of its designers and some government officials began to call the garment the "new tangzhuang"[6][7] or "APEC jackets",[11][12] but neither name lasted.

[3] Following the 1911 Xinhai Revolution and 1949 Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, the "Mao suit" (Zhōngshān zhuāng) gradually displaced the changshan and magua in most contexts.

In 1993, US president Bill Clinton tried to bring trade talks back on track by inviting the heads of the APEC member economies to personally attend what had until then been a ministerial conference.

[18] Ahead of the first occasion of China's hosting the summit in 2001, state-run media acquainted the Chinese with the custom, prompting speculation as to what China's "traditional clothes" might be:[18] Mao suits had been displaced by western-style suits; minority groups often had recognizable ethnic costumes but styles of Han clothing (hànfú) had varied from dynasty to dynasty, with the most recent Qing forms heavily influenced by the Manchus and their oppressive dress codes.

Although these designs were among the 40[19] presented to the Chinese government over the span of a year,[20] their foreign origin or political connotations[21] led officials to select an "ambiguously traditional"[18] design by Shanghainese clothiers Li Jianqin[22] (李建秦, Lǐ Jiànqín) and Yu Ying[23] (t 余鶯, s 余莺, Yú Yīng) and by five others at Qinyi (t 秦藝服飾, s 秦艺服饰, Qínyì Fúshì)[24] and the Shanghai Garment Group (t 上海服裝集團, s 上海服装集团, Shànghǎi Fúzhuāng Jítuán).

[19][25][26] The jackets given to the APEC leaders were a blend of Chinese motifs and western design, made from silk supposedly artificially enhanced to be stronger, softer, more wrinkle-resistant, more water-absorbent, and better ventilated, with longer-lasting and brighter colors.

It remained in common use among Jiang Zemin's clique and the nouveau riche,[35] but more especially became a menswear staple on the mainland and abroad for traditional Chinese holidays[34][36] alongside western and Mao-style suits.

[3][32] The tangzhuang—and its perceived inauthenticity as ethnic clothing—is also credited by members of the hanfu movement with having inspired their cause and a revival of actual traditional Han clothing, despite the Chinese public's usual confusion about its origin.

[37][38] (Traditional Chinese fashions have been so long mixed with Manchu and western elements that Tang-style robes are confused with Japanese kimonos and Ming clothes with Korean hanboks.

)[37][38] China used the "Tang suit jackets" again for its 2014 APEC summit, but with an updated style in maroon, green, and blue that The Guardian unflatteringly compared to Star Trek uniforms.

[28] In particular, they employ draping, darts, and set-in sleeves cut separately from the rest of the main garment,[28] which give them a more fitted look than traditional Chinese designs.