China is the world’s largest country in population and the third largest
in area. With the longest continuous history of any present-day nation,
China for over 3,000 years has been a center of civilization. Today it is a
major regional power in East Asia. Since 1949 the country has been
divided into two separate entities: the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
in control of the mainland, and the Republic of China (ROC), in control of
Taiwan. Both governments regard Taiwan as a province of China, and
each claims legal jurisdiction over the entire country.
Location: Eastern Asia, between India and Mongolia
Map references: Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the
World
Area:
total area: 9,596,960 sq km
land area: 9,326,410 sq km
Land boundaries: total 22,143.34 km, Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470
km, Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan
1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km,
Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km,
Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414
km, Vietnam 1,281 km.
Coastline: 14,500 km
International disputes: boundary with India; bilateral negotiations
under way to resolve disputed sections of the boundary with Russia;
boundary with Tajikistan, in dispute; a short section of the boundary with
North Korea is indefinite; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly
Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly
Brunei; maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin:
Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan;
claims Japanese administered Senkaku-shoto(Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan. Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 31%
forest and woodland: 14%
other: 45%
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, petroleum, mercury, tin, tungsten,
antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum,
lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world’s largest)
CLIMATE
Most of China has a temperate climate but, with such a large country,
extending far inland and embracing a wide range of latitude as well as
containing large areas at high altitude, many parts experience extremes of
climate, especially in winter. Most aim falls during the summer, from
May to Sept. though amounts decrease inland, Peking (Beijing), Jan. 24°F
(-4.4°C), July 79°F (26°C). Annual rainfall 24.9″ (623 mm). Chongqing,
Jan. 45° F (7.2°C), July 84°F (28.9°C). Annual rainfall 43.7″ (1.092 mm),
Shanghai. Jan. 39°F (3.9°C, July 82°C (27.8°C). Annual rainfall 45.4″
(1.135 mm), Tianjin. Jan. 24°F (-4.4°C), July 81°F (27.2°C). Annual
rainfall 21.5″ (533.4 mm).
ENVIRONMENT
CURRENT ISSUES
Air pollution from the overwhelming use of coal as a fuel, produces acid
rain which is damaging forests; water pollution from industrial effluents;
many people do not have access to safe drinking water; less than 10% of
sewage receives treatment; deforestation; estimated loss of one-third of
agricultural land since 1957 to soil erosion and economic development;
desertification
NATURAL HAZARDS
Frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts);
damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes international agreements: party to-
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Whaling; signed, but not
ratified-Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Note: world’s third largest country (after Russia and Canada) PEOPLE
Population: 1,190,431,106 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.08% (1994 est.)
Birth rate: 18.1 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate: 7.35 deaths/1,000 population (1994 ets.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant (s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 52.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 67.91 years
male: 66.93 years
female: 68.99 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.84 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese
Ethnic Divisions: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan,
Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Religions: Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Muslim 2-3%, Christian 1%
(est.)
note: officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic
Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the
Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbel
Literacy: 90 percent Age 15 and over can read write.
Labor force: 567.4 million
by occupation: agriculture and forestry 60%, industry and commerce
25%, construction and mining 5%, social services 5%, other
GOVERNMENT
Names:
conventional long form: People’s Republic of China conventional short form: China
local long form: Zhonghua Rennin Gongheguo
local short form: Zhong Guo
Abbreviation: PRC
Digraph: CH
Type: Communist state
Capital: Beijing
Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (sheng, singular and pural), 5
autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 3 municipalities**
Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei,
Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiagxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei
Mongol, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai Shi**,
Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin Shi*, Xinjiang. (Tibet), yunnan, Zhejiang
Note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province
Legislative branch: unicameral National People’s Congress: (Quanguo
Renmin Daibiao Dahui) elections last held March 1993 (next to be held
march 1998); results -CCP is the only party but there are also
independents; seats -(2,977 total) (elected at country or xian level)
Judicial branch: Supreme People’s Court
Political Parties and Leaders: Chinese Communist Party(CCP), JIANG
zemin, general secretary of the Central Committee (since 24 June 1989);
eight registered small parties controlled by CCP. The Chinese Communist
Party has 60 million members. 2 million new members are enrolled every
year. The Communist Youth League, with 56 million members, remains
by far the largest organization of young people in the world.
Other political or pressure groups: such meaningful opposition as exists
consists of loose coalitions, usually within the part and government
organization, that vary by issue
Member of: AFDB, APEC, ASDB, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NAM
(observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNIKOM, UN Security Council, UNTAC, UNTSO, UN Trusteeship
Council, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Independence: 221 BC 9 unification under the Qin or Ch’in Dynasty 221
BC; Qing or Ch’ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February
1912; People’s Republic established 1 October 1949)
National holiday: National Day, 1 October (1949)
Constitution: most recent promulgated 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
Railroads: total about 64,000 km; 54,000 km of common carrier lines, of
which 53,400 km are 1.435 meter gauge (standard) and 600km are 1,000
meter gauge (narrow); 11,200 km of standard gauge common carrier route
are double tracked and 6,900 km are electrified (1990); an additional
10,000) km of varying gauges (0.762 to 1.067 meter) are dedicated
industrial lines.
HIGHWAYS
total: 1.029 million km
paved: 170,000 km
unpaved: gravel/improved earth 648,000 km;
On October 1, 1949, the late Chairman Mao Zedong raised the first
five star red flag at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing, and declared
solemnly the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Since then, the
Chinese people have stood up, striding proudly into a new era in history.
The birth of New China symbolized a brand new stage for China.
With the Chinese Communist Party at the helm, the Chinese people built
and consolidated state power under the people’s democratic dictatorship
led by the working class and based on the worker peasant alliance. The
people became the masters of the state. This essentially guaranteed the
building of a modern socialist country.
TO GET RICH IS GLORIOUS, DENG XIAOPING ONCE SAID
and China is doing its best to comply. Thousands of export
factories are producing brand name television sets and tape decks,
sportswear and silk, for consumers around the world. In a joint venture
between American Motors and the Beijing Automobile Factory, 27,000 Cherokee Jeeps will be rolling off assembly lines in Beijing this year.
Volkswagen produces 65,000 of its Santana cars and 10,000 Jettas in
China. Nike, the leading U.S., manufacturer of sports footwear,
subcontracts to six Chinese factories that manufacture a fifth of its global
production 90 million pairs of shoes a year and plans to increase that share
soon.
The roll call of famous name brands active in China is a Debrett’s
Peerage of industry: Gillette, Carding, Siemens, Mitsubishi, Hitachi,
McDonnell Douglas and many others. So far this year, nearly 84,000 joint
ventures, cooperative enterprises and exclusively foreign funded firms
have been registered; more than 47,000 were added to the roster last year.
The value of the exports generated reached $85 billion last year. China
export the commodities to 108 countries of the world.
In the special economic zone of Shenzhen, per capita income has
officially reached $320 annually. That statistic may grossly underestimate
the region’s real earning power. According to McKinsey & Co.
consultants, per capita income in Shenzhen city may be as much as $2,500
a year..
China counts about 10,000 large and medium size state firms that
make steel, machinery, textiles and other industrial goods. For all the
inroads of the free market, the state sector still accounts for 55% of
industrial out put and employs more than 70% of the 148 million urban
workers. The state enterprises provide social welfare benefits for their 106
million employees: guaranteed lifetime employment, subsidized housing,
free schools for workers children, generous pension plans and free health
care.
FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE UNDER THE AGE OF 30,
MATERIAL SUCCESS AND SELF FULFILLMENT ARE THE
TOUCHSTONES OF THE FUTURE.
called the “fourth generation”, to distinguish them from the preceding
China has 300 million people between the ages of 14 and 28. They are
three generations, which nourished revolutionaries and ideologues.
of state power. Its 3,000 delegates are elected every five years by the
The National People’s Congress is constitutionally the highest organ
provincial level congresses and the armed forces. The NPC chooses a
Standing Committee to carry out its functions when it is not in session. ‘The congress convenes every year for a week or two, and its meetings
are well publicized. The NPC is empowered to make basic laws and
amend the constitution. It elects, and may remove, the president and vice
president as well as the premier and other members of the State Council,
It must examine and approve the state economic plan and the budget. It
may amend inappropriate recommendations made to it by the government.
These constitutional provisions make it appear that the State Council
is subordinate to the National People’s Congress. As in the case of the
party constitution, provision has been made for democratic participation in
the formation of policy, but again, as with the party, such participation
seems minimal. NPC candidates are picked by the party leadership. Their
main function is to approve policy and personnel decisions made at the top
and to pass directives to the lower levels of government. Congress
committees dealing in closed sessions do, however, sometimes influence
the government to modify its proposals.
The mass media coverage of congress sessions helps publicize and
gain popular support for new policies and programs. election to the NPC
confers much prestige on individuals and is a recognition by the party and
government of their achievements. Increasing numbers of nonparty
technocrats and intellectuals were chosen for the congress after the late
1970’s, reflecting the CCP leadership’s deemphasis of political ideology in
favor of efficiency and modernization.
THE MILITARY
The army, navy, and air force of the People’s Republic are
collectively known as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The PLA consists of an army of about 3 million, an air force of
500,000, and a navy of 350,000. The armed militia provides a reserved of
more than 4 million, and the ordinary (unarmed militia of persons with
some military training is much larger. The People’s republic also has an
internal security force, including armed polices, of about 300,000.
THE GOVERNMENT
The constitution of 1982 restored the office of head of state, which had been vacated in 1966 and abolished in 1975. Its duties are largely
eremonial. The head of state has the title zhuxi, officially translated as
president” (formerly as chairman”). The first incumbent under the new
constitution was LiXiannian.
The activities of the central government are directed by the State
Council, headed by the premier. Formally, the premier is elected by the
National People’s Congress (NPC), or central legislature, on the advice of
the president of the republic. The other council members, also elected by
the NPC, are the deputy premiers, the state councilors, and the ministers
in charge of government departments and commissions.
The State Council resembles a cabinet, and as the executive organ of
the NPC it is the central people’s government, nominally responsible to
the legislature. Under party direction, the ministries, commissions, and
specialized agencies of the council supervise most aspects of national life.
JUSTICE
The death penalty has been extended from treason and murder to
include rape, embezzlement, smuggling, drug dealing, bribery and
robbery with violence, Courts will no longer be subject to the intervention
of other state bodies, and their decisions will be reversible only by higher
courts, People’s courts are divided into some 30 higher, 200 intermediate
and 2000 basic level courts, and headed by Supreme People’s court. The
latter tries cases, hears appeals and supervises the people’s courts.
INTERNATIONAL RECORD
China is inventor of Paper, Tea, Gunpowder, Compass, The first-
paper book, Acupuncture & Moxibustion. The Greatwall, the only
manmade object visible from the Moon. This wall covers a total distance
of 7600 Km. and stands as the largest construction project ever carried
out. Tibet Plateau is the world’s highest, and such as popularly known
roof of the world”. China has the largest history of silk production of any
Country in the world. The 1500 Km LONG MARCH on foot witnessed
heroic deeds in 1935 has no example in the world. Flag: red with a large yellow five pointed star and four smaller yellow
five pointed stars (arranged in a vertical are toward the middle of the flag)
in the upper hoist side corner.
NATIONAL ANTHEM
“The March of volunteers”. This expresses the Chinese people’s
desire to resist foreign aggression and strengthen their nation it conveys as
well their revolutionary spirit, their stanunchness in the face of violence
and their willingness to lay down their lives for freedom and liberation.