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(opens in new window) 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.
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea,
and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam 35 00 N, 105 00 E
total: 9,596,960 sq km total: 22,117 km 14,500 km territorial sea: 12 nm extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas,
and hills in east lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten,
antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum,
lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest) arable land: 14.86% 545,960 sq km (2003)
frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern
coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land
subsidence 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 world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount
Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak 1,313,973,713 (July 2006 est.)
0-14 years: 20.8% (male 145,461,833/female 128,445,739) total: 32.7 years 0.59% (2006 est.)
13.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
6.97 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
-0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female total: 23.12 deaths/1,000 live births total population: 72.58 years 1.73 children born/woman (2006 est.)
0.1% (2003 est.)
840,000 (2003 est.)
44,000 (2003 est.)
noun: Chinese (singular and plural) Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu,
Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1% Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing
dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan
(Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages
(see Ethnic groups entry) definition: age 15 and over can read and write conventional long form: People's Republic of China Communist state
Beijing 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions
(zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular
and plural) 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) Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1
October (1949) most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
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
18 years of age; universal
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) Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's
Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate, and
local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime,
and railway transport courts) China's economy during the last quarter century has changed from a
centrally planned system that was largely closed to international
trade to a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing
private sector and is a major player in the global economy. Reforms
started in the late 1970s with the phasing out of collectivized
agriculture, and expanded to include the gradual liberalization of
prices, fiscal decentralization, increased autonomy for state
enterprises, the foundation of a diversified banking system, the
development of stock markets, the rapid growth of the non-state
sector, and the opening to foreign trade and investment. China has
generally implemented reforms in a gradualist or piecemeal fashion.
The process continues with key moves in 2005 including the sale of
equity in China's largest state banks to foreign investors and
refinements in foreign exchange and bond markets. The restructuring
of the economy and resulting efficiency gains have contributed to a
more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978. Measured on a
purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, China in 2005 stood as the
second-largest economy in the world after the US, although in per
capita terms the country is still lower middle-income and 150
million Chinese fall below international poverty lines. Economic
development has generally been more rapid in coastal provinces than
in the interior, and there are large disparities in per capita
income between regions. The government has struggled to: (a) sustain
adequate job growth for tens of millions of workers laid off from
state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new entrants to the work
force; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c)
contain environmental damage and social strife related to the
economy's rapid transformation. From 100 to 150 million surplus
rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many
subsisting through part-time, low-paying jobs. One demographic
consequence of the "one child" policy is that China is now one of
the most rapidly aging countries in the world. Another long-term
threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment - notably
air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table,
especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because
of erosion and economic development. China has benefited from a huge
expansion in computer Internet use, with more than 100 million users
at the end of 2005. Foreign investment remains a strong element in
China's remarkable expansion in world trade and has been an
important factor in the growth of urban jobs. In July 2005, China
revalued its currency by 2.1% against the US dollar and moved to an
exchange rate system that references a basket of currencies. Reports
of shortages of electric power in the summer of 2005 in southern
China receded by September-October and did not have a substantial
impact on China's economy. More power generating capacity is
scheduled to come on line in 2006 as large scale investments are
completed. The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in
October 2005 approved the draft 11th Five-Year Plan and the National
People's Congress is expected to give final approval in March 2006.
The plan calls for a 20% reduction in energy consumption per unit of
GDP by 2010 and an estimated 45% increase in GDP by 2010. The plan
states that conserving resources and protecting the environment are
basic goals, but it lacks details on the policies and reforms
necessary to achieve these goals.
$8.182 trillion (2005 est.)
$1.79 trillion (2005 est.)
9.3% (official data) (2005 est.)
$6,300 (2005 est.)
agriculture: 14.4% 791.4 million (2005 est.)
agriculture: 49% 4.2% official registered unemployment in urban areas in 2004;
substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas; an
official Chinese journal estimated overall unemployment (including
rural areas) for 2003 at 20% (2004) 10% (2001 est.)
lowest 10%: 2.4% 44 (2002) 1.9% (2005 est.)
43.6% of GDP (2005 est.)
revenues: $392.1 billion 28.8% of GDP (2005 est.)
rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples,
cotton, oilseed; pork; fish 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 27.7% (2005 est.)
2.19 trillion kWh (2004)
2.17 trillion kWh (2004)
10.6 billion kWh (2003)
1.546 billion kWh (2003)
3.504 million bbl/day (2004)
6.391 million bbl/day (2004)
340,300 bbl/day (2004)
3.226 million bbl/day (2004)
18.26 billion bbl (2004)
35.02 billion cu m (2003)
33.44 billion cu m (2003 est.)
2.79 billion cu m (2004)
2.53 trillion cu m (2004)
$129.1 billion (2005 est.)
$752.2 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
machinery and equipment, plastics, optical and medical equipment,
iron and steel US 21.1%, Hong Kong 17%, Japan 12.4%, South Korea 4.7%, Germany 4%
(2004) $631.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
machinery and equipment, oil and mineral fuels, plastics, optical
and medical equipment, organic chemicals, iron and steel Japan 16.8%, Taiwan 11.4%, South Korea 11.1%, US 8%, Germany 5.4%
(2004) $795.1 billion (2005 est.)
$242 billion (2005 est.)
yuan (CNY); note - also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)
calendar year
311.756 million (2004)
334.824 million (2004)
general assessment: domestic and international services are
increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed
domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and
many towns AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
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) .cn 187,508 (2005)
111 million (2005)
489 (2005) total: 389 total: 89 gas 15,890 km; oil 14,478 km; refined products 3,280 km (2004)
total: 71,898 km total: 1,809,829 km 123,964 km (2003)
total: 1,700 ships (1000 GRT or over) 20,441,123
GRT/30,808,417 DWT Dalian, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai
People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (includes
marines and naval aviation), Air Force (includes Airborne Forces),
and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force); People's Armed
Police (PAP); Reserve and Militia Forces (2006) in 2005, China and India initiated drafting principles 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; about 90,000 ethnic Tibetan exiles reside primarily in India
as well as Nepal and Bhutan; 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" has eased tensions in the
Spratlys but is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by
some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of
facilities in the Spratlys 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 have become more vocal in rejecting 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 an uncontested dispute
with North Korea and a section of boundary around Mount Paektu is
considered indefinite; China seeks to stem illegal migration of tens
of thousands of North Koreans; China and Russia prepare to demarcate
the boundary agreed to in October 2004 between the long-disputed
islands at the Amur and Ussuri; demarcation of the China-Vietnam
boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundary
delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004,
implementation has been delayed; environmentalists in Burma and
Thailand remain concerned about China's construction of
hydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan
Province refugees (country of origin): 299,287 (Vietnam) estimated
30,000-50,000 (North Korea) (2005)
major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden
Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for
chemical precursors and methamphetamine |
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