China

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the People's Republic of China. For the state known as the Republic of
China, see Taiwan. For other uses, see China (disambiguation).
"PRC" redirects here. For other uses, see PRC (disambiguation).
People's Republic of China

 中华人民共和国
 Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó

Flag

National Emblem

Anthem:

 "March of the Volunteers"

 义勇军进行曲
 Yìyǒngjūn Jìnxíngqǔ

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 Area controlled by the People's Republic of China shown in dark
green; claimed but uncontrolled regions shown in light green.
Beijing[a]
Capital
39°55′N 116°23′E
Largest city Shanghai[1]
Official languages Standard Chinese[2][b]
Official script Simplified Chinese[c]
 Mongol (Mongolian)
 Uygur (Uyghur)
Recognised regional  Zang (Tibetan)
languages[3]  Zhuang
 various others

 91.51% Han[4]
Ethnic groups  55 minorities[d][show]

Religion See Religion in China

Demonym Chinese
Unitary one-party socialist
Government
republic[5]
• General Secretary
Xi Jinping[e]
and President
• Premier Li Keqiang
• Congress Chairman Li Zhanshu
• Conference Chairman Wang Yang
• First Secretary of the Party
Wang Huning
Secretariat
• Secretary of the Discipline
Zhao Leji
Inspection Commission
• First Vice Premier Han Zheng
• Vice President Wang Qishan[f]
Legislature National People's Congress
Formation
• First imperial unification 221 BCE
• Republic established 1 January 1912
• People's Republic declared 21 September 1949[7][8][9]
• Proclamation of the People's
1 October 1949
Republic
• Current constitution 4 December 1982
• Last polity admitted 20 December 1999
Area
9,596,961 km2
• Total
(3,705,407 sq mi)[g] (3rd/4th)
• Water (%) 2.8%[h]
Population
 • 2016 estimate 1,403,500,365 [13] (1st)
• 2010 census 1,339,724,852[14] (1st)
• Density 145[15]/km2 (375.5/sq mi) (83rd)
GDP (PPP) 2018 estimate
• Total $25.23 trillion[16] (1st)
• Per capita $18,066[16] (79th)
GDP (nominal) 2018 estimate
• Total $14.09 trillion[16] (2nd)
• Per capita $10,087[16] (71st)
46.2[17]
Gini (2015)
high
0.738[18]
HDI (2016)
high · 90th
Currency Renminbi (yuan; ¥)[i] (CNY)
Time zone China Standard Time (UTC+8)
 yyyy-mm-dd
 or yyyy年m月d日
Date format
 (CE; CE-1949)

Drives on the right[j]

Calling code +86
ISO 3166 code CN
 .cn
 .中國
Internet TLD
 .中国

China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a one-party socialist state in East
Asia and, with a population of around 1.404 billion,[13] the world's most populous country.
Covering 9,600,000 square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi),[k][19] China has the most borders of any
country in the world. The Communist Party of China exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces,
five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and
Chongqing), and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

China emerged as one of the world's earliest civilizations, in the fertile basin of the Yellow River
in the North China Plain. For millennia, China's political system was based on hereditary
monarchies, or dynasties, beginning with the semi-legendary Xia dynasty in 21st century
BCE.[20] Since then, China has expanded, fractured, and re-unified numerous times. In the 3rd
century BCE, the Qin unified core China and established the first Chinese dynasty. The
succeeding Han dynasty saw some of the most advanced technology at that time, including
papermaking and the compass,[21] along with agricultural and medical improvements. The
invention of gunpowder and printing in the Tang dynasty completed the Four Great Inventions.
Tang culture spread widely in Asia, as the new maritime Silk Route brought traders to as far as
Mesopotamia and Somalia.[22] Dynastic rule ended in 1912 with the Xinhai Revolution, as a
republic replaced the Qing dynasty. The Chinese Civil War led to the break up of the country in
1949, with the victorious Communist Party of China founding the People’s Republic of China on
the mainland while the losing Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, a dispute which is still
unresolved.

Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China's economy has been one of the
world's fastest-growing. As of 2016, it is the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP
and largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). China is also the world's largest exporter and
second-largest importer of goods.[23] China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the
world's largest standing army and second-largest defense budget.[24][25][26] The PRC is a member
of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the UN Security
Council in 1971