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| |
|
China
|
|
Introduction |
|
Background: |
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.
|
|
Geography |
|
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
|
|
Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m
|
|
Natural
resources: |
coal, iron ore, petroleum,
natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese,
molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium,
hydropower potential (world's largest)
|
|
Land
use: |
arable land: 15.4%
permanent crops: 1.25%
other: 83.35% (2001)
|
|
Irrigated land: |
525,800 sq km (1998 est.)
|
|
Natural
hazards: |
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
|
|
Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
|
|
Geography - note: |
world's fourth largest
country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the
border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak
|
|
People |
|
Population: |
1,306,313,812 (July 2005
est.)
|
|
Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 21.4%
(male 148,134,928/female 131,045,415)
15-64 years: 71% (male 477,182,072/female 450,664,933)
65 years and over: 7.6% (male 47,400,282/female
51,886,182) (2005 est.)
|
|
Median
age: |
total: 32.26 years
male: 31.87 years
female: 32.67 years (2005 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate: |
0.58% (2005 est.)
|
|
Birth
rate: |
13.14 births/1,000
population (2005 est.)
|
|
Death
rate: |
6.94 deaths/1,000
population (2005 est.)
|
|
Net
migration rate: |
-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2005 est.)
|
|
Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.12
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
|
|
Infant
mortality rate: |
total: 24.18
deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.21 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 27.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
|
|
Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
72.27 years
male: 70.65 years
female: 74.09 years (2005 est.)
|
|
Total
fertility rate: |
1.72 children born/woman
(2005 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
0.1% (2003 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
840,000 (2003 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
44,000 (2003 est.)
|
|
Nationality: |
noun: Chinese
(singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese
|
|
Ethnic
groups: |
Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang,
Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and
other nationalities 8.1%
|
|
Religions: |
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist,
Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
|
|
Languages: |
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)
|
|
Literacy: |
definition: age 15
and over can read and write
total population: 90.9%
male: 95.1%
female: 86.5% (2002)
|
|
Government |
|
Country
name: |
conventional long form:
People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China
local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
local short form: Zhong Guo
abbreviation: PRC
|
|
Government type: |
Communist state
|
|
Capital: |
Beijing
|
|
Administrative divisions: |
23 provinces (sheng,
singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular
and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural)
: provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou,
Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu,
Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi,
Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang
: autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia,
Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet)
: municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin
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: |
a complex amalgam of
custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary civil code
in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since
1 January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve
civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law
|
|
Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal
|
|
Executive branch: |
chief of state:
President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President
ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March
2003); Vice Premiers HUANG Ju (since 17 March 2003), 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 five-year terms; elections last
held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held mid-March 2008); premier
nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's
Congress
election results: HU Jintao elected president by the
Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes
(four delegates voted against him, four abstained, and 38 did
not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the Tenth
National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177
delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not
vote); two 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 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
Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts);
Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and
railway transport courts)
|
|
Political parties and leaders: |
Chinese Communist Party or
CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee];
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
|
|
International organization participation: |
AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB,
ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM
(observer), NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SCO, UN, UN
Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR,
UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO, ZC
|
|
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 |
|
Economy
- overview: |
In late 1978 the Chinese
leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish,
inefficient, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more
market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a
political framework of strict Communist control, the economic
influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has
been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system
of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place
of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local
officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide
variety of small-scale enterprises in services and light
manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade
and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since
1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, China
in 2004 stood as the second-largest economy in the world after
the US, although in per capita terms the country is still poor.
Agriculture and industry have posted major gains especially in
coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan and in
Shanghai, where foreign investment has helped spur output of
both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often
has experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst
results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of
capitalism (growing income disparities and rising unemployment).
China thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central
controls at intervals. The government has struggled to (a)
sustain adequate jobs 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) keep afloat the large state-owned
enterprises, many of which had been shielded from competition by
subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and
pensions. From 100 to 150 million surplus rural workers are
adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting
through part-time, low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes
in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have
weakened China's population control program, which is essential
to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. At the same
time, 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. As part of its effort to gradually slow
the rapid economic growth seen in 2004, Beijing says it will
reduce somewhat its spending on infrastructure in 2005, while
continuing to focus on poverty relief and through rural tax
reform. Accession to the World Trade Organization helps
strengthen its ability to maintain strong growth rates but at
the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of
strong political controls and growing market influences. China
has benefited from a huge expansion in computer Internet use,
with 94 million users at the end of 2004. Foreign investment
remains a strong element in China's remarkable economic growth.
Shortages of electric power and raw materials may affect
industrial output in 2005. More power generating capacity is
scheduled to come on line in 2006. In its rivalry with India as
an economic power, China has a lead in the absorption of
technology, the rising prominence in world trade, and the
alleviation of poverty; India has one important advantage in its
relative mastery of the English language, but the number of
competent Chinese English-speakers is growing rapidly.
|
|
GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$7.262 trillion (2004 est.)
|
|
GDP -
real growth rate: |
9.1% (official data) (2004
est.)
|
|
GDP -
per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$5,600 (2004 est.)
|
|
GDP -
composition by sector: |
agriculture: 13.8%
industry and construction: 52.9%
services: 33.3% (2004 est.)
|
|
Labor
force: |
760.8 million (2003)
|
|
Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 49%, industry
22%, services 29% (2003 est.)
|
|
Unemployment rate: |
9.8% in urban areas;
substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas; an
official Chinese journal estimated overall unemployment
(including rural areas) for 2003 at 20% (2004 est.)
|
|
Population below poverty line: |
10% (2001 est.)
|
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 30.4% (1998)
|
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
44 (2002)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
4.1% (2004 est.)
|
|
Investment (gross fixed): |
46% of GDP (2004 est.)
|
|
Budget: |
revenues: $317.9
billion
expenditures: $348.9 billion, including capital
expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
|
|
Public
debt: |
31.4% of GDP (2004 est.)
|
|
Agriculture - products: |
rice, wheat, potatoes,
corn, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples, cotton, oilseed,
pork, fish
|
|
Industries: |
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 and satellites
|
|
Industrial production growth rate: |
17.1% (2004 est.)
|
|
Electricity - production: |
1.91 trillion kWh (2003)
|
|
Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 80.2%
hydro: 18.5%
nuclear: 1.2%
other: 0.1% (2001)
|
|
Electricity - consumption: |
1.63 trillion kWh (2003)
|
|
Electricity - exports: |
10.38 billion kWh (2002)
|
|
Electricity - imports: |
2.3 billion kWh (2002)
|
|
Oil -
production: |
3.392 million bbl/day
(2003 est.)
|
|
Oil -
consumption: |
4.956 million bbl/day
(2002 est.)
|
|
Oil -
exports: |
427,800 bbl/day (2002)
|
|
Oil -
imports: |
2.414 million bbl/day
(2002)
|
|
Oil -
proved reserves: |
17.74 billion bbl (2004
est.)
|
|
Natural
gas - production: |
35 billion cu m (2003
est.)
|
|
Natural
gas - consumption: |
29.18 billion cu m (2002
est.)
|
|
Natural
gas - exports: |
0 cu m (2002 est.)
|
|
Natural
gas - imports: |
0 cu m (2002 est.)
|
|
Natural
gas - proved reserves: |
2.23 trillion cu m (2004)
|
|
Current
account balance: |
$30.32 billion (2004 est.)
|
|
Exports: |
$583.1 billion f.o.b.
(2004 est.)
|
|
Exports
- commodities: |
machinery and equipment,
plastics, optical and medical equipment, iron and steel
|
|
Exports
- partners: |
US 22.8%, Hong Kong 16.2%,
Japan 12.4%, South Korea 4.4%, Germany 4% (2004)
|
|
Imports: |
$552.4 billion f.o.b.
(2004 est.)
|
|
Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and equipment,
oil and mineral fuels, plastics, optical and medical equipment,
organic chemicals, iron and steel
|
|
Imports
- partners: |
Japan 16.1%, Taiwan 10.9%,
South Korea 10.4%, US 7.7%, Hong Kong 7.4%, Germany 5.4% (2004)
|
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$609.9 billion (2004 est.)
|
|
Debt -
external: |
$233.3 billion (3rd
quarter 2004 est.)
|
|
Currency (code): |
yuan (CNY)
note:: also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)
|
|
Currency code: |
CNY
|
|
Exchange rates: |
yuan per US dollar -
8.2768 (2004), 8.277 (2003), 8.277 (2002), 8.2771 (2001), 8.2785
(2000)
|
|
Fiscal
year: |
calendar year
|
|
Communications |
|
Telephones - main lines in use: |
263 million (2003)
|
|
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
269 million (2003)
|
|
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
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and
cellular telephone systems have been installed; 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: |
160,421 (2003)
|
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
3 (2000)
|
|
Internet users: |
94 million (2004)
|
|
Transportation |
|
Railways: |
total: 71,898 km
standard gauge: 71,898 km 1.435-m gauge (18,115 km
electrified)
dual gauge: 23,945 km (multiple track not included in
total) (2002)
|
|
Highways: |
total: 1,765,222 km
paved: 395,410 km (with at least 25,130 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 1,369,812 km (2002 est.)
|
|
Waterways: |
121,557 km (2002)
|
|
Pipelines: |
gas 15,890 km; oil 14,478
km; refined products 3,280 km (2004)
|
|
Ports
and harbors: |
Dalian, Guangzhou, Nanjing,
Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai
|
|
Merchant marine: |
total: 1,649 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) 18,724,653 GRT/27,749,784 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 362, cargo 696,
chemical tanker 38, combination ore/oil 1, container 135,
liquefied gas 30, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 81, petroleum
tanker 246, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/roll off 11, vehicle
carrier 10
foreign-owned: 9 (Hong Kong 4, Japan 2, South Korea 2,
United States 1)
registered in other countries: 872 (2005)
|
|
Airports: |
472 (2004 est.)
|
|
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 383
over 3,047 m: 53
2,438 to 3,047 m: 116
1,524 to 2,437 m: 141
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 50 (2004 est.)
|
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 89
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 32
under 914 m: 35 (2004 est.)
|
|
Heliports: |
15 (2004 est.)
|
|
Military |
|
Military branches: |
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 Force (internal
security troops considered to be an adjunct to the PLA); Militia
(2003)
|
|
Military manpower - military age and obligation: |
18-22 years of age for
compulsory military service, with 24-month service obligation;
no minimum age for voluntary service; 17 years of age for women
who meet requirements for specific military jobs (2004)
|
|
Military manpower - availability: |
males age 18-49:
342,956,265 (2005 est.)
|
|
Military manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 18-49:
281,240,272 (2005 est.)
|
|
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 13,186,433
(2005 est.)
|
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure: |
$67.49 billion (2004)
|
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
4.3% (2004)
|
|
Transnational Issues |
|
Disputes - international: |
in 2005, China and India
initiate 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; 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 exclusive economic zone 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; in 2004, China and Russia
divided up the islands in the Amur, Ussuri, and Argun Rivers,
ending a century-old border dispute; 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
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Refugees and internally displaced persons:: |
refugees (country of
origin): 299,287 (Vietnam) estimated 30,000-50,000 (North
Korea) (2004)
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Illicit
drugs: |
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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