The leader of the Nationalist forces in China during the Civil War against the Communist Party was Chiang Kai-shek. As the head of the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), Chiang sought to unify China and combat the rising influence of communism led by Mao Zedong. The conflict, marked by intense military confrontations, ideological divides, and foreign intervention, culminated in a civil war that ended in 1949 with the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Chiang Kai-shek's government retreated to Taiwan, where he continued to lead the Nationalists in exile.