For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
Location
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Geographic coordinates
35 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references
Asia
Area
total
9,596,960 sq km
land
9,326,410 sq km
water
270,550 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries
total
22,117 km
border countries
Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
regional borders
Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km
Coastline
14,500 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
12 nm
contiguous zone
24 nm
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
continental shelf
200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate
extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrain
mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
Environment - current issues
air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species
Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Religions
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Languages
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
Literacy
definition
age 15 and over can read and write
total population
90.9%
male
95.1%
female
86.5% (2000 census)
Country name
conventional long form
People's Republic of China
conventional short form
China
local long form
Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
local short form
Zhongguo
abbreviation
PRC
Government type
Communist state
Capital
name
Beijing
geographic coordinates
39 56 N, 116 24 E
time difference
UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note
despite its size, all of China falls within one time zone
Administrative divisions
23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural)
note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau
Independence
221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established)
National holiday
Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)
Constitution
most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
Legal system
based on civil law system; derived from Soviet and continental civil code legal principles; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state
President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003); Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)
head of government
Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Executive Vice Premier Vice Premiers WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003)
cabinet
State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC)
elections
president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held in mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress
election results
HU Jintao elected president by the 10th National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted against him, 4 abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the 10th National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant
Legislative branch
unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held December 2002-February 2003 (next to be held in late 2007-February 2008)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA
Judicial branch
Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local People's Courts (comprise higher, intermediate, and local courts); Special People's Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts)
Political parties and leaders
Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP
Political pressure groups and leaders
no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party as subversive groups
Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission
Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.
embassy
Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing
mailing address
PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002
telephone
[86] (10) 6532-3831
FAX
[86] (10) 6532-3178
consulate(s) general
Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau, Shanghai, Shenyang
Flag description
red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner
Economy - overview
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$10.17 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$2.518 trillion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
10.7% (official data) (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$7,700 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
11.9%
industry
48.1%
services
40%
note
industry includes construction (2006 est.)
Labor force
798 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
45%
industry
24%
services
31% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate
4.2% official registered unemployment in urban areas in 2005; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2005)
Population below poverty line
10% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
1.8%
highest 10%
33.1% (2001)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
44 (2002)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
1.5% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)
44.3% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$446.6 billion
expenditures
$489.6 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
mining and ore processing, iron, steel, aluminum, and other metals, coal; machine building; armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizers; consumer products, including footwear, toys, and electronics; food processing; transportation equipment, including automobiles, rail cars and locomotives, ships, and aircraft; telecommunications equipment, commercial space launch vehicles, satellites
Industrial production growth rate
22.9% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production
2.5 trillion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel
80.2%
hydro
18.5%
nuclear
1.2%
other
0.1% (2001)
Electricity - consumption
2.494 trillion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports
11.2 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports
5 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production
3.631 million bbl/day (2005)
Oil - consumption
6.534 million bbl/day (2005)
Oil - exports
443,300 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports
3.181 million bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves
16.1 billion bbl (2006 est.)
Natural gas - production
52.88 billion cu m (2005)
Natural gas - consumption
47.91 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports
2.79 billion cu m (2005)
Natural gas - imports
0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves
2.35 trillion cu m (2005 est.)
Current account balance
$179.1 billion (2006 est.)
Exports
$974 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities
machinery and equipment, plastics, optical and medical equipment, iron and steel
Exports - partners
US 21%, Hong Kong 16%, Japan 9.5%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4.2% (2006)
Imports
$777.9 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment, oil and mineral fuels, plastics, optical and medical equipment, organic chemicals, iron and steel
Imports - partners
Japan 14.6%, South Korea 11.3%, Taiwan 10.9%, US 7.5%, Germany 4.8% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$1.034 trillion (2006 est.)
Debt - external
$305.6 billion (2006 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
$NA
Currency (code)
yuan (CNY); note - also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)
Currency code
CNY
Exchange rates
yuan per US dollar - 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.277 (2003), 8.277 (2002)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use
350.433 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
437.48 million (2006)
Telephone system
general assessment
domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns; China continues to develop its telecommunications infrastructure, and is partnering with foreign providers to expand its global reach; 3 of China's 6 major telecommunications operators are part of an international consortium which, in December 2006, signed an agreement with Verizon Business to build the first next-generation optical cable system directly linking the US mainland and China
domestic
interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; mobile cellular subscribership is increasing rapidly; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place
international
country code - 86; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
Radios
417 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations
3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations, and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)
Televisions
400 million (1997)
Internet country code
.cn
Internet hosts
232,780 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
3 (2000)
Internet users
123 million (2006)
Airports
486 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
403
over 3,047 m
56
2,438 to 3,047 m
127
1,524 to 2,437 m
138
914 to 1,523 m
22
under 914 m
60 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
83
over 3,047 m
4
2,438 to 3,047 m
2
1,524 to 2,437 m
13
914 to 1,523 m
25
under 914 m
39 (2006)
Heliports
32 (2006)
Pipelines
gas 22,664 km; oil 15,256 km; refined products 6,106 km (2006)
Railways
total
74,408 km
standard gauge
74,408 km 1.435-m gauge (19,303 km electrified) (2004)
Roadways
total
1,870,661 km
paved
1,515,797 km (with at least 34,288 km of expressways)
unpaved
354,864 km (2004)
Waterways
124,000 km navigable (2006)
Merchant marine
total
1,723 ships (1000 GRT or over) 21,405,633 GRT/32,411,260 DWT
by type
barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 387, cargo 695, chemical tanker 45, combination ore/oil 1, container 152, liquefied gas 31, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 83, petroleum tanker 261, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 14
foreign-owned
13 (Hong Kong 7, Japan 3, South Korea 2, Norway 1)
registered in other countries
1,191 (Bahamas 3, Bangladesh 1, Belize 103, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 128, Cyprus 11, Georgia 2, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 274, India 2, North Korea 1, Liberia 35, Malaysia 1, Malta 14, Mongolia 4, Norway 3, Panama 420, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 103, Sierra Leone 2, Singapore 23, Thailand 1, Tuvalu 23, unknown 33) (2006)
People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force (includes airborne forces), and Second Artillery Corps (strategic missile force); People's Armed Police (PAP); Reserve and Militia Forces (2006)
Military service age and obligation
18-22 years of age for compulsory military service, with 24-month service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18-19 years of age for women high school graduates who meet requirements for specific military jobs (2007)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
342,956,265
females age 18-49
324,701,244 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
281,240,272
females age 18-49
269,025,517 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49
13,186,433
females age 18-49
12,298,149 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
3.8% (2006)
Disputes - international
based on principles drafted in 2005, China and India continue discussions to resolve all aspects of their extensive boundary and territorial disputes together with a security and foreign policy dialogue to consolidate discussions related to the boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, and other matters; recent talks and confidence-building measures have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a boundary alignment to resolve substantial cartographic discrepancies, the largest of which lies in Bhutan's northwest; China asserts sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" eased tensions in the Spratly's but is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly's and in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord on marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; China and Taiwan continue to reject both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared equidistance line in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon prospecting; certain islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in dispute with North Korea; China seeks to stem illegal migration of North Koreans; China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance with their 2004 Agreement; in 2006, China and Tajikistan pledged to commence demarcation of the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002; demarcation of the China-Vietnam land boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004, implementation remains stalled; in 2004, international environmentalist and political pressure from Burma and Thailand prompted China to halt construction of 13 dams on the Salween River
Refugees and internally displaced persons
refugees (country of origin)
300,897 (Vietnam), estimated 30,000-50,000 (North Korea)
IDPs
90,000 (2006)
Trafficking in persons
current situation
China is a source, transit, and destination country for women, men, and children trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor; the majority of trafficking in China is internal, but there is also international trafficking of Chinese citizens; women are lured through false promises of legitimate employment into commercial sexual exploitation in Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan; Chinese men and women are smuggled to countries throughout the world at enormous personal expense and then forced into commercial sexual exploitation or exploitative labor to repay debts to traffickers; women and children are trafficked into China from Mongolia, Burma, North Korea, Russia, and Vietnam for forced labor, marriage, and sexual slavery; most North Koreans enter northeastern China voluntarily, but others reportedly are trafficked into China from North Korea; domestic trafficking remains the most significant problem in China, with an estimated minimum of 10,000-20,000 victims trafficked each year; the actual number of victims could be much greater; some experts believe that the serious and prolonged imbalance in the male-female birth ratio may now be contributing to Chinese and foreign girls and women being trafficked as potential brides
tier rating
Tier 2 Watch List - China failed to show evidence of increasing efforts to address transnational trafficking; while the government provides reasonable protection to internal victims of trafficking, protection for Chinese and foreign victims of transnational trafficking remain inadequate
Illicit drugs
major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors, despite new regulations on its large chemical industry
