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People's Republic of China

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   中华人民共和国
   中華人民共和國
   Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó
   People's Republic of China

   Flag of the People's Republic of China National Emblem of the People's
                                          Republic of China
   Flag                                   National Emblem
   Anthem: Yìyǒngjūn Jìnxíngqǔ  (义勇军进行曲)
   March of the Volunteers
   Location of the People's Republic of China
   Capital Beijing
   39°55′N 116°23′E
   Largest city Shanghai
   Official languages Standard Mandarin^1 ( Putonghua) Chinese
   Government Socialist republic^2
    - President Hu Jintao
    - Premier Wen Jiabao
   Establishment
    - Chinese civilization around 1700 BC
    - Imperial China 221 BC
    - Republican China October 10, 1911
    - PRC declared October 1, 1949
   Area
    - Total 9,596,960 km² ( 3rd^3)
   3,704,427^2 sq mi
    - Water (%) 2.8^2
   Population
    - 2006 estimate 1,315,844,000^4 ( 1st)
    - 2000 census 1,242,612,226
    - Density 140^2/km² ( 72nd)
   363^2/sq mi
   GDP ( PPP) 2005 estimate
    - Total $8.859 trillion^2 ( 2nd)
    - Per capita $7,204^2 ( 84th)
   GDP (nominal) 2005 estimate
    - Total $2.224 trillion ( 4th)
    - Per capita $1,709 ( 110th)
   HDI  (2006) 0.768 (medium) ( 81st)
   Currency Renminbi Yuan^5, 2 ( CNY)
   Time zone ( UTC+8)
    - Summer ( DST) not observed ( UTC+8)
   Internet TLD .cn^2
   Calling code +86^2
   ^1 In addition to Standard Mandarin, Cantonese is co-official in both
   Flag of Hong Kong  Hong Kong and Flag of Macau  Macau. English is
   co-official in Hong Kong (SAR); correspondingly, Portuguese in Macau
   (SAR). Similarly, several minority languages are also co-official with
   Standard Mandarin in minority areas, viz. Uyghur in Xinjiang, Mongolian
   (mainly Cyrillic but also Chahar alphabet) in Inner Mongolia, Tibetan
   in Tibet, and Korean in Yanbian, Jilin.
   ^2 Information for mainland China only. Hong Kong, Macau and
   territories under administration of the Republic of China (Taiwan,
   Quemoy, etc) are excluded.
   ^3 Area rank is disputed with the U.S. and is sometimes ranked 3rd or
   4th (see #Geography and climate).
   ^4 Midyear.
   ^5 (RMB¥)

   The People's Republic of China, also known as China, P.R.C. and PRC (
   Simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国; Traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國; pinyin:
   Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó listen ), is a state located mostly in East
   Asia, with a smaller proportion of its area located in Central Asia.
   The PRC has a coastline of 14,500 kilometres (9,010 mi), and borders
   (clockwise from south to northeast) Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India,
   Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,
   Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia, North Korea and located on the west of
   East China Sea. The PRC is a socialist republic, with its capital in
   Beijing.

   At over 3.7 million square miles (over 9.5 million km²), the PRC is the
   third or fourth largest country by area. China's landscape is varied
   with largely desert on the north and humid and mountanious on the east
   and largely dry on the western part of the country. It is also the
   world's most populous nation, with over 1.3 billion citizens and
   borders the most countries in the world with 14 independent countries.

   The present day location of PRC was the birthplace of the Chinese
   civilization that dates back to at least 1700 BC. The PRC was
   officially founded as a state in October 1, 1949, during the closing
   stages of the Chinese Civil War by its first President Mao Zedong along
   with the Constitution of the People's Republic of China.

   The PRC is the world's fourth largest economy and second largest at
   purchasing power parity (which in both areas are predicted to become
   the largest by 2020) and represents China as a permanent member of the
   UN Security Council and APEC. China is the third largest exporter and
   importer in the world. Due to its large and stable population, its
   rapidly growing economy (+9.4% annually) and military spending (~ $84.4
   billion) and other capabilities, the PRC is often considered by
   analysts and commentators as an emerging superpower (see also Chinese
   Century and Asian century). China also has a colossal appetite for raw
   materials, consuming approximately one third of the world's concrete,
   and almost half of the world's steel.

Background

   Around the time it was officially founded, the previous government of
   China, the Republic of China (R.O.C), retreated to the island of
   Taiwan, where it currently remains. Since then, the People's Republic
   of China (PRC) has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and some nearby
   islands, which are administered by the Republic of China (R.O.C), and
   asserts that the PRC has supplanted the ROC in its legitimacy to govern
   all of China. The R.O.C on Taiwan rejects these claims, and administers
   itself as a sovereign state with a democratically elected government
   and president. Until 1991, Taiwan also claimed to be the sole leader of
   all of China, as well as Mongolia. The term " mainland China" is
   sometimes used to denote the area under PRC rule, but usually excludes
   the two Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong and Macau. The
   Communist Party of China (CPC) has led the PRC under a one-party system
   since the country's establishment in 1949. Despite this, nearly half of
   the PRC's economy has been privatized in the past three decades under "
   Socialism with Chinese characteristics." During the 1980s, these
   economic reforms helped lift hundreds of millions of people out of
   poverty, bringing the poverty rate down to less than 9% from 33% of the
   population.

   China consumes a third of the world's steel, over half of the world's
   concrete and the second largest importer and consumer of world oil.
   There are currently more construction projects in China than any other
   country on earth . However, due to this mixing of market and planned
   economies, the PRC is faced with a number of problems associated with
   each, including unemployment and an increasing rural/urban income gap.
   Despite these shortcomings, greater prosperity has led to growing
   Chinese influence in global economic, political, military, scientific,
   technological, and cultural affairs.

History

   The Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the Communist Party of China
   in control of the mainland, and the Kuomintang retreating to Taiwan and
   some outlying islands of Fujian. On October 1, 1949 Mao Zedong
   proclaimed the People's Republic of China, declaring "the Chinese
   people have stood up."

   Following a series of dramatic economic failures, like the famous Great
   Leap Forward, Mao stepped down from his position as chairman in 1959,
   with Liu Shaoqi, elected by the National People's Congress, as
   successor. Mao still had a huge influence over the Party, but was
   removed from day-to-day management of economic affairs, which came
   under the control of a more moderate leadership consisting of Liu
   Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, and others who initiated economic reforms.

   In 1966, Mao and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution, which is
   viewed by many analysts and historians as an attempt to purge the
   moderate leadership and strike-back at Mao's rivals by mobilizing the
   population in support of his thought. Mao's sympathizers argued it as
   an experiment in direct democracy and a genuine attempt at fighting
   corruption and other negative influences within Chinese society.
   However, Mao's personality cult at the time and the hierarchical
   structure of the " Red Guard," as well as the economic reconstruction
   needed after these events, tend to contradict this interpretation.
   Extreme disorder followed in the wake of the Cultural Revolution, but
   premier Zhou Enlai mediated its destructive impacts and helped the
   moderate forces regain influence.

   After Mao's death in 1976 and the arrest of the Gang of Four, Deng
   Xiaoping quickly wrested power from Mao's anointed successor Hua
   Guofeng. Although Deng never became the head of the Party or State
   himself, his influence within the Party led the country to economic
   reforms, exemplified by one of his favorite sayings: "It doesn't matter
   if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice." The Communist
   Party subsequently loosened governmental control over people's personal
   lives and the communes were disbanded with many peasants receiving
   multiple land leases, which greatly increased incentives and
   agricultural production. This turn of events marked China's transition
   from a planned economy to a mixed economy. The PRC adopted its current
   constitution on December 4, 1982.

   Despite market reforms, the Communist Party of China remains in sole
   control, requiring the registration and supervision of all civic
   organizations. The CPC suppresses groups that it claims are threats to
   social stability and national unity, such as Falun Gong and the
   separatist movement in Tibet. Supporters of these policies claim that
   they safeguard stability in a society that was torn apart by class
   differences and rivalries, has no tradition of civil participation, and
   limited rule of law. Opponents claim that these policies severely
   curtail human rights and that they have resulted in a police state,
   creating an atmosphere of fear and ignorance.
   The Chinese flag before a rapidly modernizing Shanghai.
   Enlarge
   The Chinese flag before a rapidly modernizing Shanghai.

   In 1989 the death of the pro-reform official, Hu Yaobang, helped to
   spark the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, during which students and
   others campaigned for democratic reform and freedom. The protests were
   soon put down on June 4 when PLA troops entered and forcibly cleared
   the square, resulting in hundreds of casualties. This event was
   famously videotaped and brought worldwide condemnation and sanctions
   against the PRC government. The June 4th incident has been a taboo
   subject within the government, though the Party did defend its actions
   by saying that it was necessary for the continued stability and
   economic development of the country.

   President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji, both former mayors of
   Shanghai, led post-Tiananmen China in the 1990s, bringing unprecedented
   wealth and international standing to the country. Under Jiang Zemin's
   ten years of administration, China pulled an estimated 150 million
   peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual GDP growth rate
   of 11.2%. The country formally joined the WTO in 2001.

   Although China needs economic growth to spur its development, the
   government has begun to worry that rapid economic growth could
   negatively impact the country's resources and environment. Another
   concern is that many people are not benefiting from China's economic
   miracle. As a result, the PRC, under current President Hu Jintao and
   Premier Wen Jiabao, have initiated policies to address these issues,
   but the outcome remains to be seen. For much of China's population,
   living standards have seen extremely large improvements, and freedom
   continues to expand, but political controls remain tight.

Government and politics

   While the PRC is regarded as a communist state by many political
   scientists, attempts to characterize the nature of China's political
   structure into a single, simple category are typically seen as lacking
   sufficient depth to be satisfactory. The PRC government has been
   variously described as authoritarian, communist, and socialist, with
   heavy restrictions remaining in some areas, most notably on the
   internet and in the press. At the same time, China is slowly becoming
   capitalist in its economic system.

   The country is mainly run by the Communist Party of China (CPC), but
   there are other political parties in the PRC, referred to in China as
   "democratic parties" (民主党派), which participate in the People's
   Political Consultative Conference, while serving mainly to endorse CPC
   policies. There have been some moves toward political liberalization,
   in that open contested elections are now held at the village and town
   levels, and that legislatures have shown some assertiveness from time
   to time; however, the Party retains effective control over governmental
   appointments. This is because, in the absence of meaningful opposition,
   the CPC wins by default in most electorates. The CPC has been enforcing
   its rule by clamping down on political dissidents while simultaneously
   attempting to reduce dissent by improving the economy and allowing
   public expression of personal grievances so long as they are not
   organized. Current political concerns in China include lessening the
   growing gap between rich and poor, and fighting corruption within the
   government leadership. The support that the Communist Party of China
   has among the Chinese population in general is unclear because there
   are no consistently contested national elections. Also, private
   conversations and anecdotal information often reveal conflicting views.
   However, according to a survey conducted in Hong Kong, where a
   relatively high level of freedom is enjoyed, the current CPC leaders
   have received substantial votes of support when residents were asked to
   rank their favourite Chinese leaders from the mainland and Taiwan.

   For much of China's history, the state had been ruled by some form of
   centralized imperial monarchy, which was followed by a chaotic
   succession of largely authoritarian Chinese Nationalist governments as
   well as warlord- held administrations since the last few years of the
   Qing Dynasty in 1912.

Foreign relations

   Hu Jintao with George W. Bush. The relationship between the world's
   sole superpower United States and the emerging superpower status of the
   PRC is closely watched by international observers.
   Enlarge
   Hu Jintao with George W. Bush. The relationship between the world's
   sole superpower United States and the emerging superpower status of the
   PRC is closely watched by international observers.

   The PRC maintains diplomatic relations with most countries in the
   world. In 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic of China as the sole
   representative for "China" in the United Nations and as one of the five
   permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. It is
   considered a founding member of the UN, though the PRC was not in
   control of China at the time. (See China and the United Nations). The
   PRC was also a former member and leader of the Non-Aligned Movement.

   Under the One-China policy, the PRC has made it a precondition to
   establishing diplomatic relations that the other country acknowledges
   its claim to Taiwan and sever any official ties with the Republic of
   China (ROC) government. The government actively opposes foreign travels
   by former and present Taiwanese officials, such as Lee Teng-hui and
   Chen Shui-bian, and other politically controversial figures, such as
   Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama of Tibet, in an official context.

   China has been playing an increasing role in calling for free trade
   areas and security pacts amongst its Asia-Pacific neighbors. In 2004,
   China proposed an entirely new East Asia Summit (EAS) framework as a
   forum for regional security issues that pointedly excluded the United
   States. The EAS, which includes ASEAN Plus Three, India, Australia and
   New Zealand, held its inaugural summit in 2005. China is also a
   founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), with
   Russia and the Central Asian republics.

   Much of the current foreign policy is based on the concept of China's
   peaceful rise. However, conflicts with foreign countries have occurred
   at various times in its recent history, particularly with the United
   States; e.g., the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade
   during the Kosovo conflict in May 1999 and the U.S.-China spy plane
   incident in April 2001. Also, its foreign relations with many other
   Western nations suffered for a time following the Tiananmen Square
   Incident in 1989, sometimes referred to as the Tiananmen Square
   Massacre or June 4th Incident. The relationship between China and Japan
   has been strained at times by Japan's refusal to acknowledge its
   war-time past to the satisfaction of the PRC, e.g. revisionist comments
   made by prominent Japanese officials, and insufficient attention paid
   to the Nanjing Massacre and other atrocities committed during World War
   II in some Japanese history textbooks. Another point of conflict
   between the two countries is the frequent visits by Japanese government
   officials to the Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines thousands of World
   War II war criminals, including 14 Class A convicts. Relations with
   China and Japan also have been strained by the Anti-Japanese Riots that
   occurred in spring of 2005. However, Sino-Japanese relations have
   warmed considerably since Shinzo Abe became the new Japanese Prime
   Minister in September 2006. A joint historical study to be completed by
   2008 of WWII atrocities is currently being conducted by China and
   Japan.

   Bordering the most countries in the world, the PRC is in a number of
   international territorial disputes. China's territorial disputes have
   led to several localized wars in the last 50 years, including the
   Sino-Indian War in 1962, the Sino-Soviet border conflict in 1969 and
   the Sino-Vietnam War in 1979. In 2001, the PRC and Russia signed the
   Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation, which paved the
   way in 2004 for Russia to transfer Yinlong Island as well as one half
   of Heixiazi Island to China, ending a long-standing Sino-Russian border
   dispute. Other territorial disputes include islands in the East and
   South China Seas, and undefined or disputed borders with India,
   Tajikstan and North Korea.

Population policy

   With a population of over 1.3 billion, the PRC is very concerned about
   its population growth and has attempted with mixed results to implement
   a strict family planning policy. The government's goal is one child per
   family, with exceptions for ethnic minorities and flexibility in rural
   areas, where a family can have a second child if the first is a girl or
   physically disabled. The government's goal is to stabilize population
   growth early in the 21st century, though some current projections
   estimate a population of anywhere ranging from 1.4 billion to 1.6
   billion by 2025.

   The policy is resisted, particularly in rural areas, because of the
   need for agricultural labour and a traditional preference for boys.
   Families who breach the policy often lie during the census. Official
   government policy opposes forced abortion or sterilization, but
   allegations of coercion continue as local officials, who are faced with
   penalties for failing to curb population growth, may resort to forced
   abortion or sterilization, or manipulation of census figures.

   The decreasing reliability of PRC population statistics since family
   planning began in the late 1970s has made evaluating the effectiveness
   of the policy difficult. Estimates by Chinese demographers of the
   average number of children for a Chinese woman vary from 1.5 to 2.0.
   The government is particularly concerned with the large imbalance in
   the sex ratio at birth, apparently the result of a combination of
   traditional preference for boys, family planning pressure, and the wide
   availability of ultrasound, which led to its ban for the purpose of
   sex-selective abortion.

Human rights

   The Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees freedom
   of speech, freedom of the press, the right to a fair trial, freedom of
   religion, universal suffrage, and property rights. However, censorship
   of political speech and information is openly and routinely used to
   protect what the government considers national security interests. The
   government has a policy of suppressing most protests and organizations
   that it considers a threat to social stability and national unity, as
   was the case with the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. However, there
   are limits to the methods that the Party is willing or able to use as
   the media have become increasingly active in publicizing social
   problems, and exposing corruption and inefficiency at lower levels of
   government. The Party has also been rather unsuccessful at controlling
   information, and in some cases has had to change policies in response
   to public outrage. Although organized opposition against the Party is
   not accepted, demonstrations over local issues are frequently and
   increasingly tolerated.

   At times, the PRC is faced with criticism from Western governments and
   NGOs concerning allegations of gross human rights violations. These
   criticisms allege that there existed a widespread practice of lengthy
   detentions without trial, forced confessions, torture, mistreatment of
   prisoners, as well as allegations of restrictions on freedoms of
   speech, assembly, association, religion, the press, and workers'
   rights. Furthermore, China leads the world in capital punishment,
   accounting for roughly 90% of total death-penalty executions in 2004,
   These issues remain one of the driving forces behind independence
   movements in Tibet and Xinjiang. The PRC government responds to these
   criticisms by arguing that the notion of human rights should factor in
   standards-of-living. It views the rise in China's standard-of-living as
   an indicator of improvement in the human rights issue.

   In Reporters Without Borders' Annual World Press Freedom Index of 2005,
   the PRC ranked 159 out of 167 places. This is an indication that
   Reporters Without Borders considers the PRC one of the countries in the
   world with the strictest media control.

Political divisions

   The People's Republic of China has administrative control over
   twenty-two provinces (省); the government of the PRC considers Táiwān
   (台湾) to be its twenty-third province. (See Political status of Taiwan
   for more information). Apart from provinces, there are five autonomous
   regions (自治区), each with a designated minority group; four
   municipalities (直辖市); and two Special Administrative Regions (特别行政区)
   that enjoy considerable autonomy.

   The twenty-two provinces, five autonomous regions and four
   municipalities can be collectively referred to as " mainland China", a
   term which usually excludes Hong Kong, Macau.
   Province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China.
   Enlarge
   Province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China.

   The following are a list of administrative divisions of areas under the
   control of the People's Republic of China.

   Provinces （省）
     * Ānhuī (安徽)
     * Fújiàn (福建)
     * Gānsù (甘肃)
     * Guǎngdōng (广东)
     * Guìzhōu (贵州)
     * Hǎinán (海南)
     * Héběi (河北)
     * Hēilóngjiāng (黑龙江)
     * Hénán (河南)
     * Húběi (湖北)
     * Húnán (湖南)
     * Jiāngsū (江苏)
     * Jiāngxī (江西)
     * Jílín (吉林)
     * Liáoníng (辽宁)
     * Qīnghǎi (青海)
     * Shaanxi (Shǎnxī) (陕西)
     * Shāndōng (山东)
     * Shānxī (山西)
     * Sìchuān (四川)
     * ( Táiwān) (台湾)
     * Yúnnán (云南)
     * Zhèjiāng (浙江)

   Autonomous regions （自治区）
     * Guǎngxī (广西壮族自治区)
     * Inner Mongolia (Nèi Měnggǔ) (内蒙古自治区)
     * Níngxià (宁夏回族自治区)
     * Xīnjiāng (新疆维吾尔自治区)
     * Tibet (Xīzàng) (西藏自治区)

   Municipalities （直辖市）
     * Běijīng (北京市)
     * Chóngqìng (重庆市)
     * Shànghǎi (上海市)
     * Tiānjīn (天津市)

   Special Administrative Regions （特别行政区）
     * Flag of Hong Kong  Hong Kong (Xiānggǎng) (香港特别行政区)
     * Flag of Macau  Macau (Àomén) (澳门特别行政区)

Geography and climate

   Grasslands of Chengde, Hebei Province, North China.
   Enlarge
   Grasslands of Chengde, Hebei Province, North China.
   Terrace of rice fields in Yunnan province, South China.
   Enlarge
   Terrace of rice fields in Yunnan province, South China.

   The PRC is the largest country in area in East Asia (excluding Russia)
   and the third largest in the world by land-and-sea area. (However, due
   to a recent change in the method used by the United States to calculate
   its surface area, some countries and international organisations list
   the United States as third largest.) It borders 14 nations (counted
   clockwise from south): Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), India, Bhutan,
   Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan,
   Russia, Mongolia and North Korea.

   The territory of the PRC contains a large variety of landscapes. In the
   east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, there
   are extensive and densely populated alluvial plains, while on the edges
   of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, grasslands can be seen.
   Southern China is dominated by hill country and low mountain ranges. In
   the central-east are the deltas of China's two major rivers, the Huang
   He and Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). Other major rivers include the
   Xijiang River, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur.

   To the west, major mountain ranges, notably the Himalayas with China's
   highest point Mount Everest, and high plateaus feature among the more
   arid landscapes such as the Taklamakan and the Gobi Desert.

   A major issue is the continued expansion of deserts, particularly the
   Gobi Desert. Although barrier tree lines planted since the 1970s have
   reduced the frequency of sandstorms, prolonged drought and poor
   agricultural practices result in dust storms plaguing northern China
   each spring, which then spread to other parts of East Asia, including
   Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Dust from the northern plains has been tracked
   to the West Coast of the United States. Water, erosion, and pollution
   control have become important issues in China's relations with other
   countries.

   China has some relevant environmental regulations: the 1979
   Environmental Protection Law, which was largely modelled on U.S.
   legislation. But the environment continues to deteriorate. Twelve years
   after the law, only one Chinese city was making an effort to clean up
   its water discharges. This indicates that China is about 20 years
   behind the U.S. schedule of environmental regulation and 20 to 30 years
   behind Europe.

   Water pollution has increased as an issue along with industrial
   production. The Chinese government has chosen a discharge standard
   measuring the concentration of a pollutant rather than the total
   pollutant load (as is done in the USA and many western countries). As a
   result many industrial dischargers in China simply dilute the effluent
   with river water taken from the same source as the receiving waters.
   Consequently the outcome has been to create considerable water
   pollution in many of the country's rivers.

   With regard to carbon emissions, China was exempted from the Kyoto
   Protocol, and since that treaty was signed, China has become the
   world's number one emitter of carbon gases, adding to the threat of
   global warming.

   Killing elephants for ivory has been a major cause of the decline of
   the African elephant population since at least the 1970s. Most of the
   ivory harvested is imported into the People's Republic of China and
   Thailand. For example, between 1996 and 2002 forty five tonnes of ivory
   in transit to China were seized by authorities. Quite recently China
   has agreed to reduce imports of ivory; however a Chinese official Chen
   Jianwei has indicated that many Chinese people are confused about the
   legality of ivory imports .

Military

   PLA recruit training. The PLA has been rapidly modernizing, but
   reducing the size of its military force.
   Enlarge
   PLA recruit training. The PLA has been rapidly modernizing, but
   reducing the size of its military force.

   The People's Liberation Army (PLA), with its 2.25 million active
   troops, is currently the largest military in the world. The PLA
   consists of an army, navy, air force, and strategic nuclear force. The
   official budget of the PLA for 2005 is $30 billion, possibly excluding
   foreign weapons purchases, military research and development, and the
   People's Armed Police, a paramilitary force.

   The PRC, despite possession of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, is
   widely seen by military researchers both within and outside of China as
   having only limited power projection capability, so it is not yet
   considered to be a true superpower, though it is widely regarded as a
   major regional power. This is due to the limited effectiveness of its
   navy, which has no aircraft carriers (due to heavy US restriction).

   Much progress has been made in the last decade and the PRC continues to
   make efforts to modernize its military. It has purchased
   state-of-the-art fighter jets from Russia, such as the Su-30s, and has
   also produced its own modern fighters, specifically the Chinese J-10s
   and the J-11s. It has also acquired and improved upon the Russian S-300
   Surface-to-Air missile systems, which are considered to be among the
   best aircraft-intercepting systems in the world. The PRC's armoured and
   rapid-reaction forces have been updated with enhanced electronics and
   targeting capabilities. In recent years, much attention has been
   focused on building a navy with blue-water capability.

Economy

   China's GDP trend from 1952 to 2005.
   Enlarge
   China's GDP trend from 1952 to 2005.

   Beginning in late 1978, the Chinese leadership has been reforming the
   economy from a Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more
   market-oriented economy that is still within a rigid political
   framework under Party control. The reforms replaced collectivization
   with privatization of farmlands, increased the responsibility of local
   authorities and industry managers, allowed a wide variety of
   small-scale enterprises to flourish, and promoted foreign investment.
   Price controls were also relaxed. These changes resulted in mainland
   China's shift from a planned economy to a mixed economy. China became a
   member of the World Trade Organization in 2001.

   The government emphasizes personal income and consumption by
   introducing new management systems to help increase productivity. The
   government also focuses on foreign trade as a major vehicle for
   economic growth, which led to 5 Special Economic Zones (SEZ: Shenzhen,
   Zhuhai, Shantou, Xiamen, Hainan Province) where investment laws are
   relaxed so as to attract foreign capital. Since the 1990s, SEZs and
   similar concepts have been expanded to other major Chinese cities,
   including Shanghai and Beijing. The result has been a 6-fold increase
   of GDP since 1978. Chinese economic development is among the fastest in
   the world, and has been growing at an average annual GDP rate of 9.4%
   for the past 25 years. At the end of 2005, the PRC became the fourth
   largest economy in the world by exchange rate, and the second largest
   in the world after the United States by purchasing power parity at
   US$8,158 trillion. But with its large population this still gives an
   average GDP per person of only an estimated US$7,200, about 1/6th that
   of the United States. However, China is expected to surpass the US in
   all areas of economy at the earliest in 2020, at the latest in 2050.

   Mainland China has a reputation as being a low-cost manufacturer, which
   caused notable disputes in global markets. This is largely because
   Chinese corporations can produce many products far more cheaply than
   other parts of Asia or Latin America, and because expensive products
   produced in developed countries like the United States are in large
   part uncompetitive compared to European or Asian goods. Another factor
   is the unfavorable exchange rate between the Chinese yuan and the
   United States dollar to which it was pegged.

   On July 21, 2005 the People's Bank of China announced that it would
   move to a floating peg, allowing its currency to move against the
   United States dollar by 0.3% a day, while 3% a day against other
   currencies. Many high-tech American companies have difficulty exporting
   to China due to US federal government restrictions, which exacerbated
   the trade gap between the PRC and the US, and perceived low quality of
   US goods. On the other hand, China runs a trade deficit with Taiwan and
   South Korea, importing more from those nations than exports. China runs
   a large but diminishing trade surplus with Japan. ^(Slight deficit if
   Hong Kong is included). With the elimination of clothing quotas, China
   stands to take over a large chunk of the worldwide textile industry.

   Preferential tax incentives are also given as a direct fiscal incentive
   to manufacture in China, whether for export or for the local market of
   1.3 billion people. China is attempting to harmonize the system of
   taxes and duties it imposes on enterprises, domestic and foreign alike.
   As a result, preferential tax and duty policies that benefit exporters
   in special economic zones and coastal cities have been targeted for
   revision.

   There is a large wealth disparity between the coastal regions and the
   remainder of the country. To counter this potentially destabilizing
   problem, the government has initiated the China Western Development
   strategy (2000), the Revitalize Northeast China initiative (2003), and
   the Rise of Central China policy (2004), which are all aimed at helping
   the interior of China to catch up.

   There has been a significant rise in the Chinese standard of living in
   recent years. Today, a rapidly declining 10 percent of the Chinese
   population is below the poverty line. 98.9% of the youth population is
   literate, compared to 69.9% in the 1980s. The life expectancy in China
   is the third highest in East Asia, after Japan and South Korea. All of
   these statistics have been attributed partly to the Chinese economy,
   and toward the government, who has earned much praise in the 2000s.

Science and technology

   The newly opened Shanghai Museum of Science and Technology. High-tech
   industries and R&D are becoming increasingly emphasized in the Chinese
   economy.
   Enlarge
   The newly opened Shanghai Museum of Science and Technology. High-tech
   industries and R&D are becoming increasingly emphasized in the Chinese
   economy.

   After the Sino-Soviet split, China started to develop its own
   indigenous nuclear deterrent and delivery systems, successfully
   detonating its first surface nuclear test in 1964 at Lop Nor. A natural
   outgrowth of this was a satellite launching program, which culminated
   in 1970 with the launching of Dongfang Hong I, the first Chinese
   satellite. This made the PRC the fifth nation to independently launch a
   satellite. In 1992, the Shenzhou manned spaceflight program was
   authorized. After four tests, Shenzhou 5 was launched on October 15,
   2003, using a Long March 2F rocket and carrying Chinese astronaut Yang
   Liwei, making the PRC the third country to put a human being into space
   through its own endeavors. With the successful completion of the second
   manned mission, Shenzhou 6 in October 2005, the country plans to build
   a Chinese Space Station in the near future and achieve a lunar landing
   in the next decade.

   The Chinese government continues to place heavy emphasis on research
   and development by creating greater public awareness of innovation, and
   reforming financial and tax systems to promote growth in cutting-edge
   industries. President Hu Jintao in January 2006 called for China to
   make the transition from a manufacturing-based economy to an
   innovation-based one, and this year's National People's Congress has
   approved large increases in research funding. Controversial areas such
   as stem-cell research and gene therapy face minimal regulation in
   China.

   China is also actively developing its software, semiconductor and
   energy industries, including renewable energies such as hydro, wind and
   solar power. In an effort to reduce pollution from coal-burning power
   plants, China has been pioneering the deployment of pebble bed nuclear
   reactors, which run cooler and safer, and have potential applications
   for the hydrogen economy.

   The 863 Program is also part of China's science and technology focus.
   This program led to the development of the Godson computer processor.

Transportation

   G030 northbound in Hebei province. There are currently 41,000 km
   (25,000 mi) of expressways in China, half that of the US and the
   world's 2nd longest.
   Enlarge
   G030 northbound in Hebei province. There are currently 41,000 km
   (25,000 mi) of expressways in China, half that of the US and the
   world's 2nd longest.

   Transportation in the mainland of the People's Republic of China has
   improved remarkably since the late 1990s as part of a government effort
   to link the entire nation through a series of expressways known as the
   National Trunk Highway System (NTHS). Between 2001 and 2005, more than
   25,000 km (16,000 mi) of expressways were built in China for a total of
   41,000 km (25,000 mi), second only to the United States.

   Private car ownership is increasing at an annual rate of 15%, though it
   is still uncommon due to government policies that make car ownership
   expensive, such as taxes and toll roads.

   Air travel has increased, but remains too expensive for most. Long
   distance transportation is still dominated by railways and charter bus
   systems. The railways are still the vital carrier in China, and until
   this year steam locomotives were still a common sight. It is thought
   that some are still in use, especially on industrial networks.

   Cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are building subways or light rail
   systems. Hong Kong has one of the most developed transport systems in
   the world. Shanghai already has a Maglev system connecting downtown
   Shanghai to Pudong International Airport

Demographics

   Window cleaner on one of thousands of skyscrapers in Shanghai. Chinese
   society has been rapidly modernizing in the last two decades, spawning
   the largest urban migration within a generation in human history.
   Enlarge
   Window cleaner on one of thousands of skyscrapers in Shanghai. Chinese
   society has been rapidly modernizing in the last two decades, spawning
   the largest urban migration within a generation in human history.

   As of July 2006, there are 1,313,973,713 people in the PRC. About 20.8%
   (male 145,461,833; female 128,445,739) are 14 years old or younger,
   71.4% (male 482,439,115; female 455,960,489) are between 15 and 64
   years old, and 7.7% (male 48,562,635; female 53,103,902) are over 65
   years old. The population growth rate for 2006 is 0.59%. The PRC
   officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, the largest of which
   are Han Chinese, who constitute about 91.9% of the total population.
   Large ethnic minorities include the Zhuang (16 million), Manchu (10
   million), Hui (9 million), Miao (8 million), Uyghur (7 million), Yi (7
   million), Tujia (5.75 million), Mongolians (5 million), Tibetans (5
   million), Buyi (3 million), and Koreans (2 million).

   In the past decade, China's cities expanded at an average rate of 10%
   annually. The country's urbanization rate increased from 17.4% to 41.8%
   between 1978 and 2005, a scale unprecedented in human history. Caught
   between urban and rural are the 80 to 120 million migrant workers who
   work part-time in the major cities of China and return home to the
   countryside periodically with their earnings.

   Today, the People's Republic of China has dozens of major cities with
   one million or more long-term residents, including the three global
   cities of Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Major cities in China play
   key roles in national and regional identity, culture and economics.

Largest Cities

   The figures below are the 2001 estimates for the ten largest urban
   populations within administrative city limits; a different ranking
   exists when considering the total municipal populations (which includes
   suburban and rural populations). The large floating populations of
   migrant workers make conducting censuses in urban areas difficult; the
   figures below do not include the floating population, only long-term
   residents.
   Beijing
   Enlarge
   Beijing
   Hong Kong
   Enlarge
   Hong Kong
   Rank City urban area Type/location Population
   (2001 est)
   millions Density
   (2001 est)
   per km²
   Municipality limits
   (2000 census) Region
   millions density (/km²)
   1 Shanghai municipality 9.838 34,700 16.74 2,640 East
   2 Beijing municipality 7.441 29,800 13.82 822 North
   3 Hong Kong SAR 6.112 76,200 7.01 6,294 South Central
   4 Tianjin municipality 5.095 10,500 10.01 803 North
   5 Wuhan Hubei province 4.489 12,950 8.31 947 South Central
   6 Guangzhou Guangdong province 4.155 11,600 10.15 1,337 South Central
   7 Shenyang Liaoning province 3.981 9,250 7.20 557 Northeast
   8 Chongqing municipality 3.934 23,500 30.90 378 Southwest
   9 Nanjing Jiangsu province 2.822 13,250 6.40 970 East
   10 Harbin Heilongjiang province 2.672 11,350 9.35 174 Northeast

Education

   A public school classroom in the western region of Xinjiang.
   Enlarge
   A public school classroom in the western region of Xinjiang.

   In 1986, China set the long-term goal of providing compulsory nine-year
   basic education to every child. As of 1997, there were 628,840 primary
   schools, 78,642 secondary schools and 1,020 higher education
   institutions in the PRC. In February 2006, the government advanced its
   basic education goal by pledging to provide completely free nine-year
   education, including textbooks and fees, in the poorer western
   provinces. As of 2002, 90.9% (male: 95.1%; female: 86.5%) of the
   population over age 15 are literate.

   The quality of Chinese colleges and universities varies considerably
   across the country. The consistently top-ranked universities in
   mainland China include Tsinghua and Peking in Beijing, Fudan and
   Shanghai Jiaotong University in Shanghai, Nanjing University in
   Nanjing, the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei,
   Wuhan University in Wuhan,and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.

   Many parents are highly committed to their children's education, often
   investing large portions of the family's income on education. Private
   lessons and recreational activities, such as in foreign languages or
   music, are popular among the middle-class families who can afford them.

Public health

   The Ministry of Health, together with its counterparts in the
   provincial health bureaus, oversees the health needs of the Chinese
   population. An emphasis on public health and preventative treatment
   characterized health policy since the early 1950s. At that time, the
   party started the Patriotic Health Campaign, which was aimed at
   improving sanitation and hygiene, as well as attacking several
   diseases. This has shown major results as diseases like cholera,
   typhoid, and scarlet fever were nearly eradicated.

   With economic reform after 1978, the health of the Chinese public
   improved rapidly due to better nutrition despite the disappearance,
   along with the People's Communes, of much of the free public health
   services provided in the countryside. Health care in China became
   largely private fee-for-service. By 2000, when the World Health
   Organization made a large study of public health systems throughout the
   world, The World Health Report 2000 Health Systems: Improving
   Performance the Chinese public health system ranked 144 of the 191 UN
   member states ranked.

   The country's life expectancy jumped from about 32 years in 1950 to
   almost 73 years in 2006, and infant mortality went down from 300 per
   thousand in the 1950s to about 23 per thousand in 2006. Malnutrition as
   of 2002 stood at 12 percent of the population according to United
   Nations FAO sources .

   Despite significant improvements in health and the introduction of
   western style medical facilities, the PRC currently has several
   emerging public health problems, which include respiratory problems as
   a result of pollution and millions of cigarette smokers, a possible
   future HIV-AIDS epidemic, and an increase in obesity among urban
   youths. China's large population and close living quarters has led to
   some serious disease outbreaks in recent years, such as the 2002
   outbreak of SARS (a pneumonia-like disease) which has since been
   contained.

Culture

   Cold Fairyland concert in Shanghai. The band combines traditional
   Chinese instruments and musical elements with rock music.
   Enlarge
   Cold Fairyland concert in Shanghai. The band combines traditional
   Chinese instruments and musical elements with rock music.

   For centuries, opportunity for economic and social advancement in China
   could be provided by high performance on imperial examinations. The
   literary emphasis of the exams affected the general perception of
   cultural refinement in China, such as the view that calligraphy was a
   higher form of art than painting or drama. China's traditional values
   were derived from various versions of Confucianism and conservatism. A
   number of more authoritarian strains of thought have also been
   influential, such as Legalism. There was often conflict between the
   philosophies, such as the individualistic Song Dynasty neo-Confucians,
   who believed Legalism departed from the original spirit of
   Confucianism. Examinations and a culture of merit remain greatly valued
   in China today. In recent years, a number of New Confucians have
   advocated that democratic ideals and human rights are quite compatible
   with traditional Confucian "Asian values".

   The first leaders of the People's Republic of China were born in the
   old society but were influenced by the May Fourth Movement and
   reformist ideals. They sought to change some traditional aspects of
   Chinese culture, such as rural land tenure, sexism, and a Confucian
   education, while preserving others, such as the family structure and
   obedience to the state. Many observers believe that the period
   following 1949 is a continuation of traditional Chinese dynastic
   history, while others say that the CPC's rule has damaged the
   foundations of Chinese culture, especially through political movements
   such as the Cultural Revolution, where many aspects of traditional
   culture were labeled 'regressive and harmful' or 'vestiges of
   feudalism' by the regime. They further argue that many important
   aspects of traditional Chinese morals and culture, such as
   Confucianism, Chinese art, literature, and performing arts like Beijing
   opera, were altered to conform to government policies and communist
   propaganda. The institution of the Simplified Chinese orthography
   reform is controversial as well.

   Today, the PRC government has accepted much of traditional Chinese
   culture as an integral part of Chinese society, lauding it as an
   important achievement of the Chinese civilization and emphasizing it as
   vital to a Chinese national identity. Modern Chinese art, literature,
   music, film, fashion and architecture have become increasingly ready to
   incorporate various degrees of traditional Chinese culture into their
   works.

Religion

   The majority of Chinese identify themselves as non-religious, which
   constitute about 59% of the population, or about 767 million people.
   However, religion and rituals play a significant part in the lives of
   many, especially the traditional beliefs of Confucianism and Taoism.
   About 33% of the population follow a mixture of beliefs usually
   referred to by statisticians as "Traditional Beliefs" or just "Other".

   About 6% of the Chinese population are avowed Buddhists, with Mahayana
   Buddhism (大乘) and its subsets Pure Land (净土宗) and Zen (禅宗) being the
   most widely practiced. With an estimated 100 million adherents,
   Buddhism is the country's largest organized religion. Other forms of
   Buddhism, such as Theravada Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism, are
   practiced largely by ethnic minorities along the geographic fringes of
   the Chinese mainland. Official figures indicate that there are
   currently about 20 million Muslims (mostly Hui), more than 15 million
   Protestants, and 5 million Catholics in the country.

   Falun Gong, developed in the 1990s, has attracted great controversy
   after the Chinese government labeled it a malicious cult and attempted
   to eradicate it. The Falun Gong itself denies that it is a cult or a
   religion, but rather a "spiritual practice." Falun Gong claims
   approximately 70-100 million followers, a number which is rejected by
   foreign independent groups and the Chinese government, though exact
   numbers are unknown.

Sports and recreation

   China has one of the oldest sporting cultures in the world, spanning
   the course of several millennia. There is, in fact, evidence that a
   form of football was first played in China around 1000 AD, leading many
   historians to believe that the popular sport originated from China.
   Besides soccer, some of the most popular sports in the country include
   martial arts, table tennis, badminton, basketball, rugby, and more
   recently, golf. Board games such as Chess, Go (Weiqi), and Xiangqi
   (Chinese chess) are also commonly played and have organised
   competitions.

   Physical fitness is widely emphasized in Chinese culture. Morning
   exercises are a common activity and oftentimes one can find the elderly
   practicing qigong in parks or students doing stretches on school
   campuses. Young people are especially keen on basketball, especially in
   urban centres with limited space and grass areas. The NBA has a huge
   following among Chinese youths, with Yao Ming being the idol of many.
   The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX
   Olympiad, will be held in Beijing, China.

   Many traditional sports are also played. The popular Chinese dragon
   boat racing occurs during the Duan Wu festival. In Inner Mongolia,
   sports such as Mongolian-style wrestling and horse racing are popular.
   In Tibet, archery and equestrian sports are a part of traditional
   festivals.

Foreign Stereotyping

   The following Chinese stereotypes of foreigners are taken from Culture
   Shock! China by Kevin Sinclair and Iris Wong Po-Yee.
     * Non-Chinese: Pitful barbarians who, if they become troublesome in
       China, can be speedily kicked out of the country.
     * Americans: All crazy, but also generous, friendly people led by
       treacherous warmongering politicians. If they are female, probably
       have sexual designs on innocent Chinese boys. If male, likewise,
       except on Chinese girls as well as boys.
     * Germans: Clever, technically brilliant people, hardworking but
       overweight and often drunk.
     * French: Flamboyant and foppish, not serious but very artistic.
       Verging on constant anarchy.
     * British: Devious, tough, ruthless, and brutal. Not to be trusted in
       any deal unless there is an obvious reason for them to keep their
       word. Stylish and stole the idea of tea drinking.
     * Australians: Acceptable as business partners, generally a rowdy,
       hard-drinking people. A likeable bunch of lunatics who speak an
       incomprehensible dialect of English.
     * New Zealanders: Poor cousins to Australians except they get drunk
       faster. Always complaining and saying how everything is better back
       home.
     * Canadians: Nice, honest, open, and generous farmers who can be
       trusted. Easy to do business with because they are a bit simple.
     * Russians: Brutal thugs itching to steal more northern territory
       from China. Not to be trusted. But they serve as an important
       lesson to the Chinese of what happens when a superpower collapses;
       therefore most useful to the leadership.
     * Africans: Sex-crazed, drug-addicted womanisers who are talented
       dancers.
     * Filipinos: Poor yankees who yodel and pluck guitars. Not serious
       people. But they are no threat to China, so are tolerated.
     * Italians: Cultural robbers who stole the idea of noodle from China
       and called it spaghetti. Smooth and handsome romancers who drive
       fast cars. Watch out for them.
     * Latin Americans: Victims of grasping American bankers (which makes
       them good guys) and conspirators who flood the world with drugs
       (which makes them bad guys).
     * Arabs: Constant tormentors of western countries who keep western
       barbarians occupied outside of China. Therefore good. Often
       encourage Islamic extremism in Xinjiang and Ningxia. Therefore most
       dangerous and untrustworthy.
     * Japanese: Arrogant bandits awaiting opportunities to rob China's
       riches and control the country, as they have done before in WWII.

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