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- 9,596,960 km²; land area: 9,326,410 km²
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- Comparative area: slightly larger than the US
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- Land boundaries: 23,213.34 km total; Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km,
- Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, North Korea 1,416 km,
- Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan
- 523 km, USSR 7,520 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
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- Coastline: 14,500 km
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- Maritime claims:
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- Territorial sea: 12 nm
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- Disputes: boundary with India; bilateral negotiations are under way to
- resolve four disputed sections of the boundary with the USSR (Pamir, Argun,
- Amur, and Khabarovsk areas); a short section of the boundary with North
- Korea is indefinite; Hong Kong is scheduled to become a Special
- Administrative Region in 1997; Portuguese territory of Macau is scheduled
- to become a Special Administrative Region in 1999; sporadic border clashes
- with Vietnam; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with
- Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam; 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)
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- Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
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- Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains,
- deltas, and hills in east
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- Natural resources: coal, iron ore, crude oil, mercury, tin, tungsten,
- antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead,
- zinc, uranium, world's largest hydropower potential
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- Land use: 10% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 31% meadows and
- pastures; 14% forest and woodland; 45% other; includes 5% irrigated
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- Environment: frequent typhoons (about five times per year along southern
- and eastern coasts), damaging floods, tsunamis, earthquakes; deforestation;
- soil erosion; industrial pollution; water pollution; desertification
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- Note: world's third-largest country (after USSR and Canada)
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- █ ≡ People ≡ █
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- Population: 1,118,162,727 (July 1990), growth rate 1.4% (1990)
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- Birth rate: 22 births/1,000 population (1990)
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- Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
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- Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
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- Infant mortality rate: 34 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
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- Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 69 years female (1990)
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- Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (1990)
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- Nationality: noun--Chinese (sing., pl.); adjective--Chinese
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- Ethnic divisions: 93.3% Han Chinese; 6.7% Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi,
- Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities
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- Religion: officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic;
- most important elements of religion are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism;
- about 2-3% Muslim, 1% Christian
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- Language: Standard Chinese (Putonghua) or Mandarin (based on the Beijing
- dialect); also Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan
- (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, and minority languages (see
- ethnic divisions)
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- Literacy: over 75%
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- Labor force: 513,000,000; 61.1% agriculture and forestry, 25.2% industry
- and commerce, 4.6% construction and mining, 4.5% social services, 4.6% other
- (1986 est.)
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- Organized labor: All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) follows the
- leadership of the Chinese Communist Party; membership over 80 million or
- about 65% of the urban work force (1985)
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- █ ≡ Government ≡ █
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- Long-form name: People's Republic of China; abbreviated PRC
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- Type: Communist Party-led state
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- Capital: Beijing
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- Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural),
- 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 3 municipalities**
- (shi, singular and plural); Anhui, Beijing**, 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*,
- Yunnan, Zhejiang; note--China considers Taiwan its 23rd province
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- Independence: unification under the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty 221 BC, Qing
- (Ch'ing or Manchu) Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912,
- People's Republic established 1 October 1949
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- Constitution: 4 December 1982
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- 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
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- National holiday: National Day, 1 October (1949)
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- Executive branch: president, vice president, premier, three vice premiers,
- State Council, Central Military Commission (de facto)
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- Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Congress (Quanguo
- Renmin Daibiao Dahui)
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- Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court
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- Leaders:
- Chief of State and Head of Government (de facto)--DENG
- Xiaoping (since mid-1977);
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- Chief of State--President YANG Shangkun (since 8 April 1988);
- Vice President WANG Zhen (since 8 April 1988);
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- Head of Government--Premier LI Peng (Acting Premier since
- 24 November 1987, Premier since 9 April 1988);
- Vice Premier YAO Yilin (since 2 July 1979);
- Vice Premier TIAN Jiyun (since 20 June 1983);
- Vice Premier WU Xueqian (since 12 April 1988)
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- Political parties and leaders: only party--Chinese Communist Party
- (CCP), Jiang Zemin, general secretary of the Central Committee
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- Suffrage: universal at age 18
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- Elections:
- President--last held 8 April 1988 (next to be held March 1993);
- Yang Shangkun was elected by the Seventh National People's Congress;
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- National People's Congress--last held NA March 1988 (next to
- be held March 1993); results--CCP is the only party;
- seats--(2,970 total) CCP 2,970 (indirectly elected)
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- Communists: about 45,000,000 party members (1986)
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- Other political or pressure groups: such meaningful opposition as exists
- consists of loose coalitions, usually within the party and government
- organization, that vary by issue
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- Member of: ADB, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO,
- ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
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- Diplomatic representation: Ambassador ZHU Qizhen; Chancery at
- 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
- telephone (202) 328-2500 through 2502; there are Chinese Consulates General
- in Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco;
- US--Ambassador James R. LILLEY; Embassy at Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3,
- Beijing (mailing address is FPO San Francisco 96655); telephone p86o (1)
- 532-3831; there are US Consulates General in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai,
- and Shenyang
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- Flag: 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
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- █ ≡ Economy ≡ █
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- Overview: Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been trying to
- move the economy from the sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy
- to a more productive and flexible economy with market elements--but still
- within the framework of monolithic Communist 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 foreign economic sector to increased trade and joint ventures. The most
- gratifying result has been a strong spurt in production, particularly in
- agriculture in the early 1980s. Otherwise, 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 and thereby undermining the
- credibility of the reform process. Open inflation and excess demand continue
- to plague the economy, and political repression, following the crackdown at
- Tiananmen in mid-1989, has curtailed tourism, foreign aid, and new
- investment by foreign firms. Popular resistance and changes in central
- policy have weakened China's population control program, which is essential
- to the nation's long-term economic viability.
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- GNP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate 4% (1989 est.)
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- Inflation rate (consumer prices): 19.5% (1989)
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- Unemployment rate: 3.0% in urban areas (1989)
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- Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of
- $NA
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- Exports: $52.5 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
- commodities--manufactured goods, agricultural products, oilseeds, grain
- (rice and corn), oil, minerals;
- partners--Hong Kong, US, Japan, USSR, Singapore, FRG (1989)
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- Imports: $59.1 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
- commodities--grain (mostly wheat), chemical fertilizer, steel,
- industrial raw materials, machinery, equipment;
- partners--Hong Kong, Japan, US, FRG, USSR (1989)
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- External debt: $51 billion (1989 est.)
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- Industrial production: growth rate 8.0% (1989)
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- Electricity: 110,000,000 kW capacity; 560,000 million kWh produced,
- 500 kWh per capita (1989)
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- Industries: iron, steel, coal, machine building, armaments,
- textiles, petroleum
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- Agriculture: accounts for 26% of GNP; among the world's largest producers
- of rice, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, and pork;
- commercial crops include cotton, other fibers, and oilseeds; produces
- variety of livestock products; basically self-sufficient in food; fish catch
- of 8 million metric tons in 1986
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- Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $220.7 million;
- Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
- $11.1 billion
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- Currency: yuan (plural--yuan); 1 yuan (Y) = 10 jiao
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- Exchange rates: yuan (Y) per US$1--4.7221 (January 1990),
- 3.7651 (1989), 3.7221 (1988), 3.7221 (1987), 3.4528 (1986), 2.9367 (1985)
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- Fiscal year: calendar year
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- █ ≡ Communications ≡ █
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- Railroads: total about 54,000 km common carrier lines; 53,400 km
- 1.435-meter standard gauge; 600 km 1.000-meter gauge;
- all single track except 11,200 km double track on standard-gauge lines;
- 6,500 km electrified; 10,000 km industrial lines
- (gauges range from 0.762 to 1.067 meters)
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- Highways: about 980,000 km all types roads; 162,000 km paved
- roads, 617,200 km gravel/improved earth roads, 200,800 km unimproved
- natural earth roads and tracks
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- Inland waterways: 138,600 km; about 109,800 km navigable
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- Pipelines: crude, 6,500 km; refined products, 1,100 km; natural gas,
- 6,200 km
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- Ports: Dalian, Guangzhou, Huangpu, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai,
- Xingang, Zhanjiang, Ningbo
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- Merchant marine: 1,373 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,303,685 GRT/
- 20,092,833 DWT; includes 25 passenger, 41 short-sea passenger, 17
- passenger-cargo, 7 cargo/training, 766 cargo, 10 refrigerated cargo,
- 65 container, 17 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 multifunction barge carriers,
- 173 petroleum, oils, & lubricants (POL) tanker, 9 chemical tanker, 237 bulk,
- 2 vehicle carrier, 1 liquefied gas; note--China beneficially owns an
- additional 175 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling approximately 5,380,415
- DWT that operate under the registry of Panama, UK, Hong Kong, Liberia, and
- Malta
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- Airports: 330 total, 330 usable; 260 with permanent-surface runways;
- fewer than 10 with runways over 3,500 m; 90 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 200
- with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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- Telecommunications: domestic and international services are increasingly
- available for private use; unevenly distributed internal system serves
- principal cities, industrial centers, and most townships;
- 11,000,000 telephones (December 1989); stations--274 AM, unknown FM,
- 202 (2,050 relays) TV; more than 215 million radio receivers; 75 million
- TVs; satellite earth stations--4 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean
- INTELSAT, and 55 domestic.
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- █ ≡ Defense Forces ≡ █
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- Branches: Chinese People's Liberation Army (CPLA), CPLA Navy (including
- Marines), CPLA Air Force
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- Military manpower: males 15-49, 330,353,665; 184,515,412 fit for military
- service; 11,594,366 reach military age (18) annually
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- Defense expenditures: $5.28 billion (1988)