2003 Edition

Administrative divisions

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 23.1% (male 155,473,656; female 141,737,406) 15-64 years: 69.5% (male 461,223,219; female 433,154,970) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 44,954,643; female 50,431,574) (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products

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

Airports

500 (2002)

Airports - with paved runways

over 3,047 m

32 2,438 to 3,047 m: 108 1,524 to 2,437 m: 143 914 to 1,523 m: 29

total

351

under 914 m

39 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways

over 3,047 m

4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 48

total

149

under 914 m

71 (2002) Military China

Area

land

9,326,410 sq km

total

9,596,960 sq km

water

270,550 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than the US

Background

For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest, major famines, 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 gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision-making. Output quadrupled by 2000. Political controls remain tight while economic controls continue to be relaxed. Geography China

Birth rate

12.96 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Budget

expenditures

$267.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000)

revenues

$224.8 billion

Capital

Beijing

Climate

extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

Coastline

14,500 km

Constitution

most recent promulgation 4 December 1982

Country name

abbreviation

PRC

conventional long form

People's Republic of China

conventional short form

China

local long form

Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo

local short form

Zhong Guo

Currency

yuan (CNY) note:: also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)

Currency code

CNY

Death rate

6.74 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Debt - external

$149.4 billion (2002 est.)

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.

embassy

Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing

mailing address

PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002

telephone

[86] (10) 6532-3831

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission

Ambassador YANG Jiechi

consulate(s) general

Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco

Disputes - international

involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; claimants in November 2002 signed the "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea", a mechanism to ease tension but which fell short of a legally binding "code of conduct"; much of the rugged, militarized boundary with India is in dispute, but the two sides have participated in more than 13 rounds of joint working group sessions on this issue; India objects to Pakistan ceding lands to China in 1965 boundary agreement that India believes are part of disputed Kashmir; China, as well as Taiwan, claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) islands; negotiations with Tajikistan resolved the longstanding boundary dispute; China and Kazakhstan have resolved their border dispute and are working to delimit their large open borders to control population migration, illegal activities, and trade; Kyrgyzstan's constitutional court rules that 1,270 sq km ceded to China in 2000 delimitation agreement were legally transferred; certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers are in uncontested dispute with North Korea and a section of boundary around Mount Paektu is indefinite - China objects to illegal migration of North Koreans into northern China; China continues to seek a mutually acceptable solution to the disputed alluvial islands with Russia at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun river as part of the 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation; boundary agreements signed in 2002 with Tajikistan cedes 1,000 sq km of Pamir Mountain range to China in return for China's relinquishing claims to 28,000 sq km; demarcation of land boundary with Vietnam continues but maritime boundary and joint fishing zone agreement remains unratified; China occupies Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan

Distribution of family income - Gini index

40 (2001)

Economic aid - recipient

$NA

Economy - overview

In late 1978 the Chinese leadership began moving the economy from a sluggish, Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented system. Whereas the system operates within a political framework of strict Communist control, the economic influence of non-state organizations and individual citizens has been steadily increasing. The authorities switched to a system of household and village responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprises in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 2003, with its 1.3 billion people but a GDP of just $5,000 per capita, China stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US (measured on a purchasing power parity basis). Agriculture and industry have posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment has helped spur output of both domestic and export goods. The leadership, however, often has experienced - as a result of its hybrid system - the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (windfall gains and growing income disparities). China thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals. The government has 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, many of which had been shielded from competition by subsidies and had been losing the ability to pay full wages and pensions. From 80 to 120 million surplus rural workers are adrift between the villages and the cities, many subsisting through part-time low-paying jobs. Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to maintaining long-term growth in living standards. Another long-term threat to growth is the deterioration in the environment, notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north. China continues to lose arable land because of erosion and economic development. Beijing says it will intensify efforts to stimulate growth through spending on infrastructure - such as water control and power grids - and poverty relief and through rural tax reform aimed at eliminating arbitrary local levies on farmers. Accession to the World Trade Organization helps strengthen China's ability to maintain strong growth rates but at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. China has benefited from a huge expansion in computer internet use. Foreign investment remains a strong element in China's remarkable economic growth.

Electricity - consumption

1.312 trillion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports

10.3 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports

1.55 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production

1.42 trillion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

80.2%

hydro

18.5%

nuclear

1.2%

other

0.1% (2001)

Elevation extremes

highest point

Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)

lowest point

Turpan Pendi -154 m

Environment - current issues

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

Environment - international agreements

party to

Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified

Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Ethnic groups

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

Exchange rates

yuan per US dollar - 8.28 (2002), 8.28 (2001), 8.28 (2000), 8.28 (1999), 8.28 (1998)

Executive branch

cabinet

State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC)

chief of state

President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)

election results

HU Jintao elected president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,937 votes (4 delegates voted against him, 4 abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected vice president by the Tenth National People's Congress with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); 2 seats were vacant

elections

president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms; elections last held 15-17 March 2003 (next to be held mid-March 2008); premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress

head of government

Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Vice Premiers HUANG Ju (since 17 March 2003), WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG Peiyan (since 17 March 2003), and HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003)

Exports

$325.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

US 21.5%, Hong Kong 18%, Japan 14.9%, South Korea 4.8% (2002)

FAX

[1] (202) 328-2582

[86] (10) 6532-6929

chancery

2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

consulate(s) general

Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang

telephone

[1] (202) 328-2500

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications China

Flag description

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

GDP

purchasing power parity - $5.989 trillion (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

15.2%

industry and construction

51.2%

services

33.6% (2001)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $4,700 (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

8% (official data) (2002 est.)

Geographic coordinates

35 00 N, 105 00 E

Geography - note

world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak; People China

Government type

Communist state

Highways

paved

314,204 km (with at least 16,314 km of expressways)

total

1,402,698 km

unpaved

1,088,494 km (2000)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

30,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

850,000 (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

highest 10%

30.4% (1998)

lowest 10%

2.4%

Illicit drugs

major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

Imports

$295.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

Japan 18.1%, Taiwan 10.5%, South Korea 9.7%, US 9.2%, Germany 5.6% (2002)

Independence

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)

Industrial production growth rate

12.6% (2002 est.)

Industries

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

Infant mortality rate

female

25.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)

male

24.91 deaths/1,000 live births

total

25.26 deaths/1,000 live births

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

-0.8% (2002 est.)

International organization participation

APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, IFC, UNHCR, UNIDO, AfDB, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Internet country code

.cn

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

3 (2000)

Internet users

45.8 million (2002) Transportation China

Irrigated land

525,800 sq km (1998 est.)

Judicial branch

Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts (comprise higher, intermediate and local courts); Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime, and railway transport courts)

Labor force

744 million (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 50%, industry 22%, services 28% (2001 est.)

Land boundaries

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 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km

total

22,147.34 km

Land use

arable land

13.31%

other

85.49% (1998 est.)

permanent crops

1.2%

Languages

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

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

Legislative branch

unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses to serve five-year terms)

election results

percent of vote - NA%; seats - NA

elections

last held NA December 2002-NA February 2003 (next to be held late 2007-NA February 2008)

Life expectancy at birth

female

74.28 years (2003 est.)

male

70.33 years

total population

72.22 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

78.8% (2003 est.) Government China

male

92.9%

total population

86%

Location

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

Map references

Asia

Maritime claims

contiguous zone

24 NM

continental shelf

200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin

exclusive economic zone

200 NM

territorial sea

12 NM

Median age

female

31.7 years (2002)

male

31.2 years

total

31.5 years

Merchant marine

convenience

Croatia 1, Germany 1, Hong Kong 16, Japan 2, Panama 2, South Korea 1, Spain 1, Taiwan 9, Tanzania 1, Turkey 1 (2002 est.)

note

includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of

ships by type

barge carrier 2, bulk 348, cargo 824, chemical tanker 28, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 2, container 150, liquefied gas 28, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 47, petroleum tanker 267, refrigerated cargo 26, roll on/roll off 21, short-sea passenger 42, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 2

total

1,817 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 18,047,962 GRT/27,035,740 DWT

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$55.91 billion (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

4.3% (FY02) Transnational Issues China

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49

375,520,255 (2003 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49

206 million (2003 est.)

Military manpower - military age

18 years of age (2003 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males

10,973,761 (2003 est.)

National holiday

Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)

Nationality

adjective

Chinese

noun

Chinese (singular and plural)

Natural gas - consumption

30.3 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - production

30.3 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

1.29 trillion cu m (37257)

Natural hazards

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

Natural resources

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

Net migration rate

-0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption

4.975 million bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports

NA (2001)

Oil - imports

NA (2001)

Oil - production

3.3 million bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

26.75 billion bbl (37257)

People's Liberation Army (PLA)

comprises ground forces, Navy (including naval infantry and naval aviation), Air Force, and II Artillery Corps (strategic missile force), People's Armed Police Force (internal security troops, nominally a state security body but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA), militia

Pipelines

gas 13,845 km; oil 15,143 km; refined products 3,280 km (2003)

Political parties and leaders

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

Political pressure groups and leaders

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

Population

1,286,975,468 (July 2003 est.)

Population below poverty line

10% (2001 est.)

Population growth rate

0.6% (2003 est.)

Ports and harbors

Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang (2001)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)

Radios

417 million (1997)

Railways

narrow gauge

3,600 km 1.000-m and 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines (2002)

standard gauge

68,000 km 1.435-m gauge (14,600 km electrified)

total

71,600 km

Religions

Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%-2%, Christian 3%-4%

note

officially atheist (2002 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth

1.09 male(s)/female

total population

1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

under 15 years

1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telephone system

domestic

interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place

general assessment

domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns

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 (2000)

Telephones - main lines in use

135 million (2000)

Telephones - mobile cellular

65 million (January 2001)

Television broadcast stations

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

Televisions

400 million (1997)

Terrain

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

Total fertility rate

1.7 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate

urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2002 est.)

Waterways

110,000 km (1999)