People's Republic of China

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中华人民共和国 (Simplified Chinese characters) 中華人民共和國 (Traditional Chinese characters) Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó People's Republic of China
Flag National Emblem
Anthem: "March of the Volunteers" (义勇军进行曲)
Capital		Beijing 39°55′N 116°23′E / 39.917, 116.383
Largest city		Shanghai
Official languages		Mandarin, Cantonese [a] (Chinese)
Demonym		Chinese
Government		Socialist Republic[b]
-	President	Hu Jintao
-	Premier	Wen Jiabao
Establishment
-	People's Republic declared	October 1, 1949
Area
-	Total	9,598,086 km² [d] or 9,640,821 km²[d] (3rd / 4th–disputed) 3,704,427 sq mi
-	Water (%)	2.8[c]
Population
-	2007 estimate	1,321,851,888[c] (1st)
-	2000 census	1,242,612,226
-	Density	140/km² (53rd) 363/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$7.043 trillion[1] (2nd)
-	Per capita	$5,300[2] (130th)
GDP (nominal)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$3.42 trillion (4th)
-	Per capita	$2,800 (105th)
Gini (2007)		47.0[3]
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.777 (medium) (81st)
Currency		Yuan, Hong Kong dollar, Macanese pataca (CNY, HKD, MOP)
Time zone		(UTC+8)
-	Summer (DST)	not observed (UTC+8)
Internet TLD		.cn, .hk, .mo
Calling code		+86[c]
a. ^  General Information of the People's Republic of China, ChinaToday. Retrieved 21 February 2007. In addition to Mandarin, Cantonese is co-official in both Hong Kong and Macau. English is co-official in Hong Kong (SAR); correspondingly, Portuguese in Macau (SAR). Similarly, several minority languages are also co-official with Chinese (Mandarin) in minority areas, viz. Zhuang in Guangxi, Uyghur in Xinjiang, Mongolian in the classical alphabet in Inner Mongolia, Tibetan in Tibet, and Korean in Yanbian, Jilin. b. ^  The role of the government, China, Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved on 21-02-2007. c. ^  Information for mainland China only. The Special Administrative Regions of the PRC: Hong Kong, Macau are excluded. In addition, the island territories under the control of the Republic of China, which includes the islands of (Taiwan, Kinmen, and Matsu) are also excluded. d. ^  9,598,086 km² Excludes all disputed territories. 9,640,821 km² Includes PRC-administered area (Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract, both territories claimed by India), Taiwan is not included. China Daily website

The People's Republic of China (simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国; traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó listen (help·info)), commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the third or fourth largest country in the world.^[4] With a population of over 1.3 billion, it is the most populous country in the world.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) has led the PRC under a single-party system since the state's establishment in 1949. The PRC is involved in a long-running dispute over the political status of Taiwan. The CPC's rival during the Chinese Civil War, the Kuomintang (KMT), retreated to Taiwan and surrounding islands after its civil war defeat in 1949, claiming legitimacy over China, Mongolia, and Tuva while it was the ruling power of the Republic of China (ROC). The term "Mainland China" is often used to denote the areas under PRC rule, but sometimes excludes its two Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong and Macau.

Because of its vast population, rapidly growing economy, and large research and development investments, China is considered an "emerging superpower".^[5][6] It has the world's fourth largest economy (second largest in terms of purchasing power parity.) China is also a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.^{[7][8][9][10]} Since 1978, China's market-based economic reforms have brought the poverty rate down from 53% in 1981 to 8% by 2001.^[11] However, China is now faced with a number of other economic problems, including an aging population, an increasing rural-urban income gap, and rapid environmental degradation.^[12][13]

China plays a major role in international trade. The country is the world's largest consumer of steel and concrete, using, respectively, a third and over a half of the world's supply of each.^[14] China is the biggest consumer of copper in the world.^[15] Counting all products, China is the third largest importer and the second largest exporter in the world.^[16][17]

History

Main articles: History of China and History of the People's Republic of China

Major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the Communist Party of China in control of the mainland, and the Kuomintang (KMT) 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".^[18] Red China was a frequent appellation for the PRC (generally within the Western Bloc) used from the time of Communist ascendance until the mid-late 1970s with the improvement of relations between China and the West.^[19]

Following a series of dramatic economic failures (caused by the Great Leap Forward), Mao stepped down from his position as chairman in 1959, with Liu Shaoqi as successor. Mao still had much influence over the Party, but was removed from day-to-day management of economic affairs, which came under the control of Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping.

In 1966, Mao and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution, which would last until Mao's death a decade later. The Cultural Revolution, motivated by power struggles within the Party and a fear of the Soviet Union, led to a major upheaval in Chinese society. In 1972, at the peak of the Sino-Soviet split, Mao and Zhou Enlai met Richard Nixon in Beijing to establish relations with the United States. In the same year, the PRC was admitted to the United Nations, replacing the Republic of China for China's membership of the United Nations, and permanent membership of the Security Council.

After Mao's death in 1976 and the arrest of the Gang of Four, blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping quickly wrestled 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 of significant magnitude. The Communist Party subsequently loosened governmental control over citizens' 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 with an increasingly open market environment, a system termed by many "market socialism". The PRC adopted its current constitution on December 4, 1982.

In 1989, the death of pro-reform official, Hu Yaobang, helped to spark the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, during which students and others campaigned for several months for more democratic rights and freedom of speech. However, they were eventually put down on June 4 when PLA troops and vehicles entered and forcibly cleared the square by opening fire on protesters, resulting in numerous casualties. This event was widely reported and famously videotaped, which brought worldwide condemnation and sanctions against the government.

President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji, both former mayors of Shanghai, led post-Tiananmen China in the 1990s. Under Jiang Zemin's ten years of administration, China's economic performance pulled an estimated 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual GDP growth rate of 11.2%.^[20][21] The country formally joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Although China needs economic growth to spur its development, the government has begun to worry that rapid economic growth has negatively impacted the country's resources and environment. Another concern is that certain sectors of society are not sufficiently benefiting from China's economic development. As a result, under current President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, the PRC have initiated policies to address these issues of equitable distribution of resources, but the outcome remains to be seen.^[22] For much of China's population, living standards have seen extremely large improvements, and freedom continues to expand, but political controls remain tight.

Politics

Main article: Politics of the People's Republic of China

While the PRC is regarded as a Communist state by many political scientists, simple characterizations of China's political structure since the 1980s are no longer possible.^[23] The PRC government has been variously described as authoritarian, communist, and socialist, with heavy restrictions remaining in many areas, most notably in the Internet and in the press, freedom of assembly, reproductive rights, and freedom of religion. However, compared to its closed door policies until the mid-1970s, the liberalization of the PRC is such that the administrative climate is much less restrictive than before, though the PRC is still far from the full-fledged democracy practiced in most of Europe or North America, according to most observers internationally.

The country is ruled under the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. Its incumbent President is Hu Jintao and its premier is Wen Jiabao.

The country is run by the Communist Party of China (CPC), which is guaranteed power by the Constitution.^[24] There are other political parties in the PRC, referred to in China as "democratic parties", which participate in the People's Political Consultative Conference and the National People's Congress. There have been some moves toward political liberalization, in that open contested elections are now held at the village and town levels,^[25][26] and that legislatures have shown some assertiveness from time to time. However, the Party retains effective control over governmental appointments: in the absence of meaningful opposition, the CPC wins by default most of the time. Political concerns in China include lessening the growing gap between rich and poor and fighting corruption within the government leadership.^[27] The level of support that the Communist Party of China has among the Chinese population in general is unclear since there are no consistently contested national elections.^[28] 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 favorite leaders from the PRC and Taiwan.^[29]

See also: Government of the People's Republic of China, Chinese nationalism, Propaganda in the People's Republic of China, Chinese law, Politics of the Republic of China, Neoconservatism in China, Politics of Hong Kong, and Politics of Macau

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China maintains diplomatic relations with most major countries in the world. Sweden was the first western country to establish diplomatic relations with China on 9 May 1950.^[30] In 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic of China as the sole representative of China in the United Nations and as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.^[31] It is considered a founding member of the UN, though the PRC was not in control of China at the time. The PRC was also a former member and leader of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Under its interpretation of 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 severs official ties with the Republic of China (ROC) government. The government opposes publicized foreign travels by former and present Taiwanese officials promoting Taiwan's independence, such as Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian, and other politically controversial figures, such as Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism, 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.^[32] 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 Organisation (SCO), with Russia and the Central Asian republics.

Much of the current foreign policy is based on the concept of China's peaceful rise. Conflicts with foreign countries have occurred at 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. Its foreign relations with many Western nations suffered for a time following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, though they have since recovered. 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 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. 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 being conducted by China and Japan.

Equally bordering the most countries in the world alongside Russia, the PRC was in a number of international territorial disputes. China's territorial disputes have led to localized wars in the last 50 years, including the Sino-Indian War in 1962, the Sino-Soviet border conflict in 1969 and the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979. In 2001, the PRC and Russia signed the Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship,^[33] which paved the way in 2004 for Russia to transfer Yinlong Island as well as one-half of Heixiazi 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, Tajikistan and North Korea.

While accompanying a rapid economic rise, the PRC since the 1990s seeks to maintain a policy of quiet diplomacy with its neighbors. Steadying its economic growth and participating in regional organizations and cultivating bi-lateral relations will ease suspicion over China's burgeoning military capabilities. The PRC has started a policy of wooing African nations for trade and bilateral co-operations.^[34]

Population policy

Main article: One-child policy

With a population of over 1.3 billion, the PRC is very concerned about its population growth and has attempted, with mixed results,^[35] 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 twenty-first century, though some projections estimate a population of anywhere ranging from 1.4 billion to 1.6 billion by 2025. Hence the country's family planning minister has indicated that China will maintain its one-child policy until at least the year 2018.^[36]

The policy is resisted, particularly in rural areas, because of the need for agricultural labor and a traditional preference for boys. Families who breach the policy often lie during the census.^[37] Official government policy opposes forced sterilization or abortion, 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.^[38] 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, and family planning pressure, which led to the ban of using ultrasound devices for the purpose of preventing sex-selective abortion.

Human rights

Main article: Human rights in the People's Republic of China

Whilst economic and social controls have been greatly relaxed in China since the 1960s, political freedom is still tightly controlled by both central and local governments. The Constitution of the People's Republic of China states that the "fundamental rights" of citizens include freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to a fair trial, freedom of religion, universal suffrage, and property rights. However, these provisions do not afford significant protection against criminal prosecution by the State.

Censorship of political speech and information is openly and routinely used to silence criticism of government and the ruling Chinese Communist Party.^[39] In particular, press control is notoriously tight: Reporters Without Borders considers the PRC one of the least free countries in the world for the press.^[40] The government has a policy of limiting some 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. The Communist Party has had mixed success at controlling information: a very strong media control system faces very strong market forces, an increasingly educated citizenry and cultural change that are making China more open. In some cases, especially on environmental issues,^[41][42] China's leaders see expressions of public dissatisfaction as a catalyst for positive change.

A number of foreign governments and NGOs routinely criticize the PRC, alleging widespread human rights violations including systematic use of lengthy detention without trial, forced confessions, torture, mistreatment of prisoners, restrictions of freedom of speech, assembly, association, religion, the press, and labor rights.^[39] China leads the world in capital punishment, accounting for roughly 90% of total executions in 2004.^[43] Human rights issues are one of the factors driving independence movements in Tibet and Xinjiang. In the Reporters Without Borders' Annual World Press Freedom Index of 2005,^[40] the PRC ranked 159 out of 167 places. PRC journalist He Qinglian in her 2004 book Media Control in China^[44] documents government controls on the Internet and other media in China.

The PRC government has responded by arguing that the notion of human rights should take into account a country's present level of economic development, and focus more on the people's rights to subsistence and development in poorer countries.^[45] The rise in the standard of living, literacy and life expectancy for the average Chinese in the last three decades is seen by the government as tangible progress made in human rights.^[46] Efforts in the past decade to combat deadly natural disasters, such as the perennial Yangtze River floods, and work-related accidents are also portrayed in China as progress in human rights for a still largely poor country.^[45]

Political divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of China

See also: List of cities in the People's Republic of China and Names of the territories of the PRC in Simplified and Traditional Chinese

The People's Republic of China has administrative control over twenty-two provinces and considers Taiwan to be its twenty-third province.^[47] There are also five autonomous regions, each with a designated minority group; four municipalities; and two Special Administrative Regions 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 and Macau.

Political divisions of the PRC	Provinces (省)
For a larger map, see here.	Anhui (安徽) Fujian (福建) Gansu (甘肃) Guangdong (广东) Guizhou (贵州)	Hainan (海南) Hebei (河北) Heilongjiang (黑龙江) Henan (河南) Hubei (湖北)	Hunan (湖南) Jiangsu (江苏) Jiangxi (江西) Jilin (吉林) Liaoning (辽宁)	Qinghai (青海) Shaanxi (陕西) Shandong (山东) Shanxi (山西) Sichuan (四川)	Taiwan (台湾)† Yunnan (云南) Zhejiang (浙江)
	†Taiwan is claimed by the PRC but administered by the Republic of China
	Autonomous regions (自治区)		Municipalities (直辖市)		Special Administrative Regions (特别行政区)
	Guangxi (广西壮族自治区) Inner Mongolia (内蒙古自治区) Ningxia (宁夏回族自治区) Xinjiang (新疆维吾尔自治区) Tibet (西藏自治区)		Beijing (北京市) Chongqing (重庆市) Shanghai (上海市) Tianjin (天津市)		Hong Kong (香港特別行政區) Macau (澳門特別行政區)

Geography and climate

Main articles: Geography of China and Geography of the People's Republic of China

China is the second largest country in Asia by area after Russia, and is considered the third or fourth largest^[48] in the world in respect to land-and-sea area. The uncertainty over size is related to (a) the validity of claims by the PRC on territories such as Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract (both territories also claimed by India), and (b) how the total size of the United States is calculated: The World Factbook gives 9,826,630 km²,^[49] and the Encyclopedia Britannica gives 9,522,055 km².^[50] A recent change in the method used by the United States to calculate its surface area adds to the confusion as to the actual size of the United States.^[51] China borders 14 nations (counted clockwise from south): Vietnam, Laos, Burma, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan,^[52] Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and North Korea. Additionally the border between PRC and ROC is located in territorial waters.

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 Yellow River and Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). Other major rivers include the Xi, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur.

To the west, major mountain ranges, notably the Himalayas, with China's highest point at the eastern half of 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.^[53] 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 Korea and Japan. 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 modeled on U.S. legislation. But the environment continues to deteriorate.^[54] While the regulations are fairly stringent, they are frequently disregarded by local communities while seeking economic development. Twelve years after the law, only one Chinese city was making an effort to clean up its water discharges.^[55] This indicates that China is about twenty years behind the U.S. schedule of environmental regulation.

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 U.S. 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 has ratified the Kyoto Protocol but it is not required to reduce carbon emissions because of its status as a developing country. However, with rapid industrialization, China is fast becoming one of the world's top emitters of carbon gases and possibly a major contributor to global warming.

Part of the price China is paying for increased prosperity is damage to the environment. Leading Chinese environmental campaigner Ma Jun has warned that water pollution is one of the most serious threats facing China. According to Ma the drinking water of 300 million peasants is unsafe and water quality in one fifth of the cities is not up to standard. This makes the crisis of water shortages more pressing, with 400 out of 600 cities short of water.^[56]

See also: Environment of China and Water resources of the People's Republic of China

Military

Main article: People's Liberation Army

With 2.3 million active troops, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the largest military in the world.^[57] The PLA consists of an army, navy, air force, and strategic nuclear force. The official announced budget of the PLA for 2007 was $45 billion. However, the United States claims China does not report its real military spending. The DIA estimates that the real Chinese military budget for 2007 could be anywhere from US$85 to US$125 billion.^[58].

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; this is, among other things, because of the limited effectiveness of its navy. It is considered a major military regional power and an emerging military superpower.^[59]

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 Sukhoi Su-30s, and has also produced its own modern fighters, specifically the Chinese J-10s and the J-11s.^[60] 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,^[61] albeit Russia has since produced the new generation S-400 Triumf. The PRC's armored 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.^[62]

Economy

Main articles: Economy of the People's Republic of China and Economy of Hong Kong

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 of Chinese agriculture 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.

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 five Special Economic Zones (SEZ: Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, Xiamen, Hainan) where investment laws are relaxed so as to attract foreign capital. Since the 1990s, SEZs and similar concepts have been expanded to major Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Beijing. The result has been a six-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 twenty-five years.^[63]

Mainland China has a reputation of 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 0.5% (effective 18 May 2007, which was earlier 0.3%) a day, while 3% a day against other currencies.^[64] Many high-tech American companies have difficulty exporting to China because of U.S. federal government restrictions, which exacerbated the trade gap between the PRC and the US, widespread software piracy and illegal copying of intellectual property (a major US export), and perceived low quality of US goods. 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.^[65] But with its large population, this still gives an average GDP per person of only an estimated US$8,000 (2006).

Today, only ten percent of the Chinese population is below the poverty line. 90.9% of the population is relatively literate,^[66] compared to 20% in 1950.^[67] The life expectancy in China is the third highest in East Asia, after Japan and South Korea. 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.

As of 2006, approximately 70% of China's growth came from the private sector. The private sector was dominated by about 200 large enterprises concentrated mostly in utilities, heavy industries, and energy resources.^[68] China is undergoing major reforms in its financial sector, which has been plagued by nonperforming loans made in the 1980s and early 1990s to inefficient state-owned enterprises. The government has spent five years and more than US$400 billion cleaning bad loans off the books of the big four state-owned banks, helping prepare them to become shareholder corporations.^[69] By the end of 2006, China had restructured three of its four largest banks and listed them publicly. China's largest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in October 2006 raised US$21.6 billion in the world's largest initial public offering (IPO) in history. As of 2008, ICBC is now the world's largest bank in market value.

Science and technology

Main articles: Science and technology in the People's Republic of China and List of Chinese inventions

After the Sino-Soviet split, China started to develop its own nuclear weapons and delivery systems, successfully detonating its first surface nuclear test in 1964 at Lop Nur. A natural outgrowth of this was a satellite launching program, which culminated in 1970 with the launching of Dong Fang 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.^[70] 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.^[71] 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.^[72]

China has the world's second largest research and development budget, and is expected to invest over $136 billion this year after growing more than 20% in the past year.^[73] 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. Stem cell research and gene therapy, which some in the Western world see as controversial, face minimal regulation in China. China has an estimated 926,000 researchers, second only to the United States's 1.3 million.^[74]

China is also actively developing its software, semiconductor and energy industries, including renewable energies such as hydro, wind and solar power.^[75] 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.^[76]

Transportation

Main article: Transport in the People's Republic of China

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). The total length of expressway is 45,000 km at the end of 2006, second only to the United States.^[77][78] Most of the expressways, however, require tolls.

Private car ownership is increasing at an annual rate of 15%, though it is still uncommon because of government policies that make car ownership expensive, such as taxes and toll roads.^[79] Private highway driving is becoming more common, being almost nonexistent ten years ago.

Domestic air travel has increased significantly, but remains too expensive for most. Long distance transportation is dominated by railways and charter bus systems. Railways are the vital carrier in China; they are monopolized by the state, divided into various railway bureaus in different regions. At the rates of demand it experiences, the system has historically been subject to overcrowding during travel seasons such as Chunyun during Chinese New Year.

Cities such as Beijing and Shanghai both have a rapidly expanding network of subway or light rail systems, while several other cities also have running rapid transit. Numerous cities are also constructing subways. Hong Kong has one of the most developed transport systems in the world. Shanghai has a Maglev rail line connecting Shanghai's urban area to Pudong International Airport.

See also: Rail transport in the People's Republic of China

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of the People's Republic of China and List of ethnic groups in China

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%.^[80] The PRC officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Han Chinese, who constitute about 91.9% of the total population.^[81] 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), Mongols (5 million), Tibetans (5 million), Buyei (3 million), and Koreans (2 million).^[82]

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.^[83] 80 to 120 million migrant workers work part-time in the major cities and return home to the countryside periodically with their earnings.^[84]

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;^[85] the figures below do not include the floating population, only long-term residents.

Rank	Core City	Division	Pop.	Rank	Core City	Division	Pop.	view • talk • edit Shanghai Beijing
1	Shanghai	Shanghai	14,530,000	11	Chengdu	Sichuan	3,750,000
2	Beijing	Beijing	10,300,000	12	Chongqing	Chongqing	3,270,000
3	Shenzhen	Guangdong	11,820,000	13	Qingdao	Shandong	3,200,000
4	Guangzhou	Guangdong	7,050,000	14	Tangshan	Hebei	3,200,000
5	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	6,840,000	15	Nanjing	Jiangsu	3,110,000
6	Dongguan	Guangdong	6,450,000	16	Zibo	Shandong	2,900,000
7	Tianjin	Tianjin	5,190,000	17	Fuzhou	Fujian	2,600,000
8	Wuhan	Hubei	4,890,000	18	Changsha	Hunan	2,520,000
9	Harbin	Heilongjiang	4,754,753	19	Nanchang	Jiangxi	2,440,000
10	Shenyang	Liaoning	4,420,000	20	Wuxi	Jiangsu	2,400,000
2007 Census

See also: List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population

Education

Main article: Education in the People's Republic of China

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.^[86] 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.^[87] As of 2002, 90.9% (male: 95.1%; female: 86.5%) of the population over age 15 are literate.^[80] China's youth (age 15 to 24) literacy rate is 98.9% (99.2% for males and 98.5% for females) in 2000.^[88] In March 2007, China announced the decision of making education a national "strategic priority", the central budget of the national scholarships will be tripled in two years and 223.5 billion Yuan (28.65 billion US dollars) of extra funding will be allocated from the central government in the next 5 years to improve the compulsory education in rural areas.^[89]

The quality of Chinese colleges and universities varies considerably across the country. The consistently top-ranked universities in mainland China are Peking and Tsinghua in Beijing; Fudan, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and East China Normal University in Shanghai; Xi'an Jiaotong University in Xi'an; Nanjing University in Nanjing; the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei; Zhejiang University in Hangzhou and Wuhan University in Wuhan.^[90][91]

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.^[92]

Public health

Main article: Public health in the People's Republic of China

The Ministry of Health, together with its counterparts in the provincial health bureaus, oversees the health needs of the Chinese population.^[95] 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 because of 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 41 years in 1950 to almost 73 years in 2006,^[96] and infant mortality went down from 300 per thousand in the 1950s to about 23 per thousand in 2006.^[80][97] Malnutrition as of 2002 stood at 12 percent of the population according to United Nations FAO sources.^[98]

Despite significant improvements in health and the introduction of western style medical facilities, the PRC has several emerging public health problems, which include respiratory problems as a result of widespread air pollution^[94] and millions of cigarette smokers,^[99] a possible future HIV/AIDS epidemic, and an increase in obesity among urban youths.^[100][101] Estimates of excess deaths in China from environmental pollution (apart from smoking) are placed at 760,000 people per annum from air and water pollution (including indoor air pollution).^[102] China's large population and close living quarters has led to some serious disease outbreaks in recent years, such as the 2003 outbreak of SARS (a pneumonia-like disease) which has since been largely contained.^[103]

Culture

Main articles: Culture of the People's Republic of China and Culture of China

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 belief that calligraphy and literati painting were higher forms of art than dancing or drama. China's traditional values were derived from various versions of Confucianism and conservatism. A number of more authoritarian and rational 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."^[104]

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 propaganda at the time. One example being Chinese character simplification, since traditional characters were blamed for the country's low literacy rate at the time.^[105] However, simplified Chinese characters are not used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.^[105]

Today, the PRC government has accepted a great deal 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. Since the Cultural Revolution has ended, various forms of traditional Chinese art, literature, music, film, fashion and architecture have seen a vigorous revival,^[106][107] and folk and variety art in particular have gained a new found respectability, and sparked interest nationally and even worldwide.^[108]

Religion

Main article: Religion in China

See also: Chinese folk religion and Feng shui

The state is officially atheist, with accordance to the basic doctrines of Marxism, but the majority of people do subscribe to some kind of spiritual or religious belief. Due to a multitude of cultural and historical reasons, however, it is impossible to determine the exact amount of adherents to larger religious groups such as Buddhism and Taoism. This is due to ambiguity over what constitutes a practicing Buddhist and how to draw the line between Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religions. Some sources claim that the majority of Chinese people follow Buddhism (between 660 million, 50%, and over 1 billion, 80%)^[109][110] and/or Taoism (400 million, 30%).^[111][112]

Number of adherents to these religions can be overlaid in percentage due to the fact that some Chinese consider themselves both Buddhist and Taoist. In addition, subscribing to Buddhism and Taoism is not necessarily considered religious in the sense that a large number of people follow the philosophies in principle but stop short at subscribing to any kind of divinity ^{[113][114][115]} Buddhists are mostly nominal adherents because only a small proportion of the population (over 8% or over 100 million)^[116][117] may have taken the formal step of going for refuge.^[118][119]

Mahayana (大乘, Dacheng) and its subsets Pure Land (Amidism), Tiantai and Zen are the most widely practiced denominations of Buddhism. Other forms, such as Theravada and Tibetan, are practiced largely by ethnic minorities along the geographic fringes of the Chinese mainland.^[120]

Numbers for minority religions are also hard to determine. Christianity has gained a significant following since the late 19th Century (between 40 million, 3%,^[121] and 54 million, 4%),^[122] Islam (20 million, 1.5%), Hinduism, Dongbaism, Bon, and a number of new religions and sects (particularly Xiantianism).

Islam, first arrived in China after the 7th century during the Tang Dynasty.^{[citation needed]} Islam was later spread by merchants and craftsmen as trade routes improved along the Silk Road, while Christianity began to make significant inroads in China after the 16th century through Jesuit and later protestant missionaries.^{[citation needed]} Islam arrived in China during the 8th century, only a few years after the Islamic prophet Muhammad's death.^{[citation needed]} The Emperor of China took Islam highly,^{[dubious – discuss]} and the first mosque in China, the Huaisheng Mosque was built in Canton, Guangzhou in 630.^{[citation needed]}

Official figures also indicate that there are about 20 million Muslims.^[123]

A government official recently suggested that there are 16 million Christians.^[124] However, an independent survey by East China Normal University estimated the Christian population at 40 million, much higher than the government's numbers but much lower than numbers favored by some Western observers.^[125]

According to the surveys of Phil Zuckerman on Adherents.com; in 1998, 59.10% (over 700 million)^[126] of the Chinese population was irreligious.

According to the only official count, by the Sports Administration in 1998, there were 50-70 million practitioners of Falun Gong.^[127] As there are no membership lists, current global numbers are unknown.

Sports and recreation

Main article: Sports in China

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 association football was first played in China in ancient times, leading many historians to believe that the popular sport originated from China.^[128] Besides soccer,^[129] some of the most popular sports in the country include martial arts, table tennis, badminton, swimming, basketball, and more recently, golf and rugby. Board games such as Go (Weiqi), and Xiangqi (Chinese chess) and recently Chess are also commonly played and have organized competitions.

Physical fitness is widely emphasized in Chinese culture. Morning exercises are a common activity and often one can find the elderly practicing qigong and tai chi chuan in parks or students doing stretches on school campuses. Young people are especially keen on basketball, especially in urban centers with limited space and grass areas. The NBA has a huge following among Chinese youths, with Yao Ming being the idol of many.^[130] The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in Beijing, and as a result the country has put even more emphasis on sports.

Many traditional sports are also played. The popular Chinese dragon boat racing (龙舟) occurs during the Dragon Boat Festival. In Inner Mongolia, sports such as Mongolian-style wrestling and horse racing are popular. In Tibet, archery and equestrianism are a part of traditional festivals.^[131]

See also: Chinese art, Chinese architecture, Han Chinese clothing, Chinese cuisine, Traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese literature, Chinese mythology, Cinema of China, Chinese animation, Music of China, Public holidays in the People's Republic of China, and List of Chinese people

See also

• China (civilization)
• Chinese government
• Chinese Soviet Republic
• Zhonghua minzu

References

Further reading

Find more about China on Wikipedia's sister projects:
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• Lynch, Michael (1998). Peoples Republic Of China 1949–90. Trafalgar Square Publishing. ISBN 0-340-68853-X. 
• Murphey, Rhoads (1996). East Asia: A New History. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-321-07801-2. 
• Sang Ye (2006). China Candid: The People on the People's Republic. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24514-8. 
• Selden, Mark (1979). The People's Republic of China: Documentary History of Revolutionary Change. New York: Monthly Review Press. ISBN 0-853-45532-5. 
• Terrill, Ross (2003). The New Chinese Empire, And What It Means For The United States. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-08412-5. 
• Thurston, Anne F. (1994). China Bound: A Guide to Academic Life and Work in the PRC. Washington: National Academies Press. ISBN 0-309-04932-6. 
• Farah, Paolo, Five Years of China’s WTO Membership. EU and US Perspectives on China’s Compliance with Transparency Commitments and the Transitional Review Mechanism, Legal Issues of Economic Integration, Kluwer Law International, Volume 33, Number 3, pp. 263–304, 2006. Abstract.
• Heilig, Gerhard K., China Bibliography - Online. 2006, 2007. [1].

External links

Overviews People's Daily: China at a Glance BBC News — Country Profile: China China entry at The World Factbook "Rethinking ‘Capitalist Restoration’ in China" by Yiching Wu Documentaries "China on the Rise" PBS Online NewsHour. October 2005. China Rises a documentary co-produced by The New York Times, Discovery Times, CBC, ZDF, France 5 and S4C. 9 April 2006. China in the Red, 1998–2001. PBS Frontline. China From the Inside A documentary series co-produced by KQED Public Television and Granada Television. Government The Central People's Government of People's Republic of China (English) China's Official Gateway for News & Information (English)

Studies Assertive Pragmatism: China's Economic Rise and Its Impact on Chinese Foreign Policy - analysis by Minxin Pei, IFRI Proliferation Papers n°15, 2006 The Dragon's Dawn: China as a Rising Imperial Power February 11, 2005. History of The People's Republic of China Timeline of Key Events since 1949. Media, advertising, and urban life in China. China's Neoliberal Dynasty by Peter Kwong, originally published in The Nation 2 October 2006. Travel China travel guide from Wikitravel Maps Google Maps - China Google Maps - China Interesting locations Wikimedia Atlas of the People's Republic of China

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Coordinates: 35°00′N, 105°00′E