China

3 (1999)

AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)

417 million (1997)

domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place international: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany

110 million (1999 est.)

23.4 million (1998)

3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)

400 million (1997)

rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish

revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

1 yuan = 10 jiao

$159 billion (1998 est.)

$NA

Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been moving the economy from a sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented economy but still within a rigid political framework of Communist Party control. To this end the authorities have switched to a system of household responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 1999, with its 1.25 billion people but a GDP of just $3,800 per capita, China became the second largest economy in the world after the US. Agricultural output doubled in the 1980s, and industry also posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. On the darker side, the leadership has often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption) and of capitalism (windfall gains and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. In late 1993 China's leadership approved additional long-term reforms aimed at giving still more play to market-oriented institutions and at strengthening the center's control over the financial system; state enterprises would continue to dominate many key industries in what was now termed "a socialist market economy". In 1995-99 inflation dropped sharply, reflecting tighter monetary policies and stronger measures to control food prices. At the same time, the government struggled to (a) collect revenues due from provinces, businesses, and individuals; (b) reduce corruption and other economic crimes; and (c) keep afloat the large state-owned enterprises, most of which had not participated in the vigorous expansion of the economy and many of which had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 50 to 100 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to continued rapid economic growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. The next few years will witness increasing tensions between a highly centralized political system and an increasingly decentralized economic system.

1.014 trillion kWh (1998)

7.935 billion kWh (1998)

89 million kWh (1998)

1.16 trillion kWh (1998)

fossil fuel: 80.31% hydro: 18.46% nuclear: 1.23% other: 0% (1998)

yuan per US$1 - 8.2793 (January 2000), 8.2783 (1999), 8.2790 (1998), 8.2898 (1997), 8.3142 (1996), 8.3514 (1995) note: beginning 1 January 1994, the People's Bank of China quotes the midpoint rate against the US dollar based on the previous day's prevailing rate in the interbank foreign exchange market

$194.9 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

machinery and equipment; textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods; mineral fuels, chemicals

US 22%, Hong Kong 19%, Japan 17%, Germany, South Korea, Netherlands, UK, Singapore, Taiwan (1999)

calendar year

purchasing power parity - $4.8 trillion (1999 est.)

agriculture: 15% industry: 35% services: 50% (1999 est.)

purchasing power parity - $3,800 (1999 est.)

7% (1999 est.)

lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 30.9% (1995)

$165.8 billion (c.i.f., 1999)

machinery and equipment, plastics, chemicals, iron and steel, mineral fuels

Japan 20%, US 12%, Taiwan 12%, South Korea 10%, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore (1999)

8.8% (1999 est.)

iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications

-1.3% (1999 est.)

700 million (1998 est.)

agriculture 50%, industry 24%, services 26% (1998)

10% (1999 est.)

urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (1999 est.)

total: 9,596,960 sq km land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km

slightly smaller than the US

extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

14,500 km

lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)

air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal, produces acid rain; water shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban

35 00 N, 105 00 E

world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US)

498,720 sq km (1993 est.)

total: 22,143.34 km border countries: 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

arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 43% forests and woodland: 14% other: 33% (1993 est.)

Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam

Asia

contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 nm

frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts

coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)

mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east

23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau

Beijing

most recent promulgation 4 December 1982

conventional long form: People's Republic of China conventional short form: China local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo local short form: Zhong Guo abbreviation: PRC

CH

chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph W. PRUEHER embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6422 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang

chief of mission: Ambassador LI Zhaoxing chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco

chief of state: President JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993) and Vice President HU Jintao (since 16 March 1998) head of government: Premier ZHU Rongji (since 18 March 1998); Vice Premiers QIAN Qichen (since 29 March 1993), LI Lanqing (29 March 1993), WU Bangguo (since 17 March 1995), and WEN Jiabao (since 18 March 1998) cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC) elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 16-18 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress election results: JIANG Zemin reelected president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,882 votes (36 delegates voted against him, 29 abstained, and 32 did not vote); HU Jintao elected vice president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,841 votes (67 delegates voted against him, 39 abstained, and 32 did not vote)

red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner

Communist state

221 BC (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)

AfDB, APEC, AsDB, BIS, CCC, CDB (non-regional), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC

Supreme People's Court, judges appointed by the National People's Congress

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

unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,979 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms) elections: last held NA December 1997-NA February 1998 (next to be held late 2002-NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA

National Day, 1 October (1949)

Chinese Communist Party or CCP [JIANG Zemin, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP

no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong sect and the China Democracy Party as potential rivals

18 years of age; universal

For centuries China has stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the first half of the 20th century, China was beset by major famines, civil unrest, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping decentralized economic decision making. Output quadrupled in the next 20 years and China now has the world's second largest GDP. Political controls remain tight even while economic controls continue to weaken.

People's Liberation Army (PLA), which includes the Ground Forces, Navy (includes Marines and Naval Aviation), Air Force, Second Artillery Corps (the strategic missile force), People's Armed Police (internal security troops, nominally subordinate to Ministry of Public Security, but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA in wartime)

$12.608 billion (FY99); note - Western analysts believe that China's real defense spending is several times higher than the official figure because a number of significant items are funded elsewhere

1.2% (FY99)

males age 15-49: 363,050,980 (2000 est.)

males age 15-49: 199,178,361 (2000 est.)

18 years of age

males: 10,839,039 (2000 est.)

0-14 years: 25% (male 168,040,006; female 152,826,953) 15-64 years: 68% (male 439,736,737; female 413,454,673) 65 years and over: 7% (male 41,200,297; female 46,573,816) (2000 est.)

16.12 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

6.73 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%

28.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)

total population: 71.38 years male: 69.6 years female: 73.33 years (2000 est.)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 81.5% male: 89.9% female: 72.7% (1995 est.)

noun: Chinese (singular and plural) adjective: Chinese

-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

1,261,832,482 (July 2000 est.)

0.9% (2000 est.)

Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 2%-3%, Christian 1% (est.) note: officially atheist

at birth: 1.15 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

1.82 children born/woman (2000 est.)

boundary with India in dispute; dispute over at least two small sections of the boundary with Russia remain to be settled, despite 1997 boundary agreement; portions of the boundary with Tajikistan are indefinite; 33-km section of boundary with North Korea in the Paektu-san (mountain) area 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; agreement on land border with Vietnam was signed in December 1999, but details of alignment have not yet been made public

major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem [Country Listing] [ The World Factbook Home]

206 (1996 est.)

total: 192 over 3,047 m: 18 2,438 to 3,047 m: 65 1,524 to 2,437 m: 90 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 6 (1996 est.)

total: 14 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (1996 est.)

total: 1.21 million km paved: 271,300 km (with at least 24,474 km of expressways) unpaved: 938,700 km (1998 est.)

total: 1,746 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,637,023 GRT/24,552,567 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 325, cargo 840, chemical tanker 21, combination bulk 11, combination ore/oil 1, container 125, liquified gas 20, multi-functional large load carrier 5, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 46, petroleum tanker 251, refrigerated cargo 24, roll-on/roll-off 21, short-sea passenger 43, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 1 (1999 est.)

crude oil 9,070 km; petroleum products 560 km; natural gas 9,383 km (1998)

Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Tianjin, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang

total: 65,650 km (including 5,400 km of provincial "local" rails) standard gauge: 62,050 km 1.435-m gauge (12,150 km electrified; 20,250 km double track) narrow gauge: 3,600 km 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines (1998 est.) note: a new total of 68,000 km has been estimated for early 1999

110,000 km navigable (1999)