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NAVIGATION
People's Republic of China
Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
Zhong Guo
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China local short form: Zhong Guo abbreviation: PRC local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo |
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Government type:
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Communist state |
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Capital:
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Beijing |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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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) |
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National holiday:
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Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949) |
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Constitution:
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most recent promulgation 4 December 1982 |
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Legal system:
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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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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Hu Jintao (since 15 March 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)
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 head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); 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) 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) |
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Legislative branch:
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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 |
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Judicial branch:
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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) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao, General Secretary of the Central Committee]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the Falungong sect and the China Democracy Party as potential rivals |
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International organization participation:
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AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CCC, CDB, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), OPCW, PCA, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMOVIC, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Jiechi
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582 telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500 chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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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) 6532-3431 FAX: [86] (10) 6532-6929 consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenyang |
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Flag description:
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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
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Economy - overview:
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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 have 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 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 2002, with its 1.28 billion people but a GDP of just $4,600 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. On the darker side, the leadership has often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy and lassitude) and of capitalism (windfall gains and growing income disparities). Beijing 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 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. Access to the World Trade Organization strengthens China's ability to maintain sturdy growth rates, and at the same time puts additional pressure on the hybrid system of strong political controls and growing market influences. Although Beijing has claimed 7%-8% annual growth in recent years, many observers believe the rate, while strong, is more like 5%. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $6 trillion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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8% (official estimate) (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $4,600 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 18%
industry: 49% services: 33% (2001 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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10% (2001 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 30% (1998) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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40 (2001) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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-0.8% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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706 million (2000 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 50%, industry 23%, services 27% (2001 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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urban unemployment roughly 10%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $161.8 billion
expenditures: $191.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
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Industries:
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iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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13.5% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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1.308 trillion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 82%
hydro: 17% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 1% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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1.206 trillion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - exports:
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10.25 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - imports:
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400 million kWh (2000) |
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Agriculture - products:
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rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish |
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Exports:
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$312.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment; textiles and clothing, footwear, toys and sporting goods; mineral fuels |
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Exports - partners:
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US 20.4%, Hong Kong 17.5%, Japan 16.9%, South Korea 4.7%, Germany 3.7%, Netherlands 2.7%, UK 2.6%, Singapore 2.2%, Taiwan (2001) |
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Imports:
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$268.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, chemicals |
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Imports - partners:
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Japan 17.6%, Taiwan 11.2%, US 10.8%, South Korea 9.6%, Germany 5.7%, Hong Kong 3.9%, Russia 3.3%, Malaysia 2.5% (2001) |
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Debt - external:
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$149.4 billion (2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$NA |
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Currency:
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yuan (CNY) |
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Currency code:
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CNY |
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Exchange rates:
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yuan per US dollar - 8.2767 (January 2002), 8.2771 (2001), 8.2785 (2000), 8.2783 (1999), 8.2790 (1998), 8.2898 (1997) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |